


The Impossible Dream

by Atumun15



Series: The True Magic [4]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Hyunjin breaks into Jisung's home oops, Hyunjin is a thief, Jisung is a painter, Jisung is kind of emotional and socially inexperiences, M/M, and Jisung paints him, fail at a slow burn, loosely based off of rapunzel, or tangled, with a little bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 13:57:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16476854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atumun15/pseuds/Atumun15
Summary: "What if it's not everything I dreamed it to be?""It will be,""And what if it is? What do I do then?""Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream."





	The Impossible Dream

 

_“Contrary to popular belief, the skill of painting was not something a person was born with. It was not a natural talent one could just… have. The arts were something you obtained through hard work, and sure, there were those who picked up on it quicker than others, but it was never something impossible someone couldn’t obtain if they weren’t born with it. Everyone starts from square one, everyone starts with just a simple not so straight line, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bloom into something completely and utterly beautiful with time.”_

 

_The talent of the arts is a tree. You have to give it time to grow and prosper -”_

 

“Fuck trees, I’m about to throw my painting out the fucking window in a second,” A gruff voice broke through the soft voice of Han Jisung’s professor from his first year of university, shutting off the recording before he broke his phone in pure frustration. Normally, the silky tones his professor used soothed him greatly, as her voice was soft like the fuzzy petals of a flower, but today he was more than irritated and was quite frankly, ready to throw this painting out the window and let it fall into the pool. It wouldn’t be the first time within the last few months, but he knew his maid would have his head if he were to dirty the pool again.

 

So, Jisung shoved himself away from the room as a whole, stuffing the wooden end of the paintbrush into the medium bun on the back of his head that kept it in place relatively well, and finding refuge in the kitchen to pour himself some tea to energize himself a bit, “Yeah, sure, whatever. Maybe I just need some energy,” Jisung muttered to himself, yelping a bit when he heard something crash upstairs. Jisung’s eyes widened in alarm but then squinted in suspicion before sliding the brush out of his hair and holding it as if it were a knife as he slipped up the stairs. Any other human being wouldn’t be as worried as Jisung when someone breaks into their home. Jisung had his reasons for being more alarmed than an average person when something suspicious had practically fallen into his lap.

 

Or this case, into his painting room.

 

Granted, this wasn’t one of Hyunjin’s greatest ideas in the world, but he had to admit that even this was incredibly sloppy of him. Sure, he was clumsy at times, but it hadn’t ever been this bad where he literally fell through a window, rolled to the floor, and knocked over a large easel standing towards the wall which ultimately knocked over a rack of paint bottles that all went toppling to the ground, some even busting from the impact. As if his luck couldn’t get any worse, he was only allowed to get a singular curse word out before the door slammed open, “Fuck,” Hyunjin cursed, eyes slowly drawing up the figure stood in the doorway.

 

At first, the thief is slightly caught off guard by the brown fuzzy socks with acorns all over them, but only became a little more gobsmacked and out of breath when his eyes tracked up the skinny legs covered in black sweatpants, a petite torso with a brown sweater draped across tan, thin shoulders, and his face - oh lord his face - was pulled into one of pure aggression. His wide, doe eyes were squinted, and his chubby cheeks were puffed out with a crimson tint over them, and - oh fuck was that a bun? “Fuck is right, you dumb idiot head. You just had to show up today, didn’t you? As if today wasn’t already bad enough!” Jisung hisses, but never approaches the thief on the ground. Jisung merely stands in the doorway with a trembling body filled to the brim with anger. “And you spilled my paint too!” A screech rang out when Jisung’s eyes flickered down to the paint covered floor.

 

Hyunjin wasn’t even really sure what to say at this point, what could he? “I’m… sorry…?” Since when was he apologetic about making someone’s day bad? _He was a thief!_

 

“I’m sure you are, asshole,” Jisung snapped, approaching the rack and lifting it with little to no effort which only seemed to confuse Hyunjin further. This man was scrawnier than Jeongin, and he was picking up things he wasn’t even sure he himself could pick up. Was this a god or something? “Well? Either make yourself useful or leave, damnit!” Jisung screeched with such a high and loud tone, Hyunjin was sure his eardrums would bust the moment he had to listen to it again so scampered up to help the beautiful owner of the house he just broke into. Hyunjin felt like he was having a crisis right then and there as he helped, having never really been in this situation and feeling anxiety bubble in his chest. What if he called the cops? “Don’t worry about me calling the cops. I’ll figure out a way for you to redeem yourself.”

 

Jisung’s claim earned him an odd look from Hyunjin. Though, could anyone really blame the thief? It all sounded oddly sketchy and Hyunjin was _not_ prepared to become sort of sex slave because that wasn’t what he had come here for. “W-What?” It took Jisung a second to realize why Hyunjin was acting so uncomfortable, but when he did, his nose and lips scrunched up into a snarl.

 

“Don’t make this awkward, man,” Jisung huffed, getting up and off of his knees to grab a roll of paper towels in the corner, and running a few folded parts under some warm water to dampen it a bit. However, he didn’t use it right away, throwing the paper towels in Hyunjin’s direction, “Wipe away the bulk of paint,” Jisung ordered, watching Hyunjin’s every move like a hawk and the paintbrush still gripped tightly in his hand. When a good portion of it was gone, Jisung let the wet paper towel fall onto the ground with a plop, and all Hyunjin could think was why he didn’t decide to go to class today. He figured learning about the human body would be better than this, “What are you waiting for? Clean!” Jisung snapped, arms crossed over his chest and one hip jutted out. Hyunjin couldn’t even bring himself to be irritated. If anything, he was just slightly frustrated with himself for getting into this situation.

 

It hadn’t taken long for everything to be cleaned up and situated again, but before Hyunjin could even think about making a quick escape out the window, a harsh hand clapped onto his shoulder and forced him to whirl around. Hyunjin didn’t even have time to blink before the ski mask over his face was lifted up at his neck, catching briefly on both his lips and nose before it was in the hands of the house owner. Jisung observed the thief with his chin jutted out and eyes narrowed down into an incredulous gaze. Hyunjin shrunk back at the intensity of it, not liking the idea that the man in front of him was picking him apart piece by piece. “Hm… Strong jawline,” Jisung started, muttering low enough to where Hyunjin just barely heard it, and he could have sworn his ears were going to melt off at the heat of his own embarrassment, “Nice lips, nose, and eyes, too bad you’re a thief. You’re quite attractive,” Jisung complimented, but Hyunjin took it with a grain of salt.

 

Or well, a whole tub. “What do you want?” Hyunjin hissed out, the first sign of genuine aggression, but Jisung held his jaw so tightly Hyunjin was scared to move out of fear of Jisung drawing blood from how harshly he was digging his nails into his skin. He looked so small, so petite, so _weak_ , but yet here he was holding Hyunjin as if he were a _doll_.

 

“Sit down, thief. I’m going to paint you,” Jisung shoved him over to a stool, going to turn his back to grab a few things but not before he took out his phone and snapped the quickest, but somehow clearest picture of Hyunjin he could manage, “Just in case you decide to bolt,” Jisung smiled a sickeningly sweet smile and Hyunjin felt like he was getting kidnapped when Jisung turned his back to grab a large canvas from the corner, gently propped it up on the easel, and then grabbed for all of his paints, pallet, and brushes before placing them on a cart he wheeled over to the canvas. Hyunjin was sure he was going to lose his mind by the end of this because while this man had such a small, petite body, his presence was overwhelmingly strong.

 

Suddenly, hands were on Hyunjin’s face again, and Jisung was pivoting his head so his chin was jutted out to the side, but his attention was ultimately on Jisung. “Part your lips slightly. Try and act alluring,” Jisung advised, and that was something that Hyunjin was relatively good at. Though, when he did his signature face, Jisung only curled his nose up in slight disgust. “I said to be alluring, not constipated,” Jisung snapped, earning a choked breath from the elder. “Do you have makeup on?” Hyunjin slowly nodded. “I’ll be back. Don’t even think about leaving either. I’ll find you and stab your eyeballs out,” Any other time, Hyunjin would have made a break for it but he knew that this man’s threat was nowhere near empty and Hyunjin was stuck in his seat.

 

Hyunjin hadn’t even come to a proper decision when Jisung came padding back in with a packet of makeup wipes and a small bag to put them in. When the painter began to wipe away the layers of makeup on Hyunjin’s face, his touch was far more gentle than it had been before, but the pressure was there so his strokes were effective. It felt… nice. Though, when all of it was off, Hyunjin felt vulnerable, squirming under Jisung’s far more intense but less aggressive gaze. “That’s better. Now try again. Be more relaxed,” Jisung advised, and when Hyunjin tried his best to look as alluring as possible, he only felt sleepy. “There we go…” Jisung hummed, padding backward so he was behind the easel. Jisung slid the pencil out of his bun and began to outline the thief’s general face structure.

 

“Quit moving,” Jisung snapped.

 

An hour and a half had passed, and Hyunjin felt like if he had to sit like that for any longer, he was going to lose his mind. “Can we take a break or something? This hurts so bad. I feel like I’m going to end up crying if my neck starts cramping again,” Jisung glared up at the elder, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.

 

“More than when you fell through my window and knocked over all of my things?” Jisung’s voice was low, gravely, and entirely intimidating. Hyunjin didn’t offer him an answer, and Jisung stayed quiet for a few more brush strokes before he flickered his eyes up, “Break,” Hyunjin let out a breath of relief, relaxing on the stool with a hunched back and a hand curling around his neck and rub away some of the pain. “Tea?” Jisung inquired, getting up out of his chair with an arch of his back causing a deafening chain of pops. Hyunjin nodded hesitantly, not sure if he’d end up being poisoned. When Hyunjin tried to curl around the canvas to see how it was going, Jisung grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out, “No peeking until it’s finished,”

 

“How long do you think this is going to take…?” Hyunjin wondered hesitantly as he wandered down the glass square spiral staircase. His fingers were curled tightly around the railing out of anxiety of the painter walking on glass in nothing but a pair of fuzzy socks that gave off a very hazardous vibe. Though, Jisung seemed used to the lack of friction and didn’t seem at all cautious as he was practically sliding down the stairs like a little kid. Jisung hummed to himself in thought, tapping his cheek cutely and Hyunjin was trying his best to figure out what had happened between them leaving the room and now that made Jisung so… giddy.

 

“I’d say at least five more three-hour sessions,” Jisung shrugged casually, but Hyunjin’s eyes boggled and he choked on his own spit.

 

“Sessions?!” Hyunjin cried out, body trembling at the idea that he would have to come back…. _Multiple times_. Jisung hummed in confirmation, nodding his head as they entered a large, modern and fancy kitchen that looked larger than Hyunjin’s apartment. Jisung slid over to the other side of the kitchen, reaching up to dig through the cabinets above him, causing the brown sweater to lift up and reveal a sliver of toned, honey skin covered back and Hyunjin found himself eyeing it wearily. Jisung let out a frustrated huff when his fingers accidentally knocked the box of tea bags back, making them out of reach unless Jisung climbed up onto the counter. “Do you need help?” Hyunjin inquired with a teasing tone, a quirk of lips to match, and they didn’t falter a single moment, even when Jisung turned towards him with an icy glare.

 

“Yes,” Jisung huffed coldly.

 

“What do you say?” Hyunjin murmured, cocking his head to the side and crossed his arms over his chest. Jisung stared at him in absolute disbelief for a few moments before his eyes flickered closed with an aggravated huff slipping past his lips and pinching the bridge of his nose. Jisung debated turning around and getting up on the counter but he wasn’t sure he had enough body strength for that considering he hadn’t really eaten that day.

 

“ _Please get the tea down for me,_ ” Jisung hissed out.

 

“Say it nicely,” _Oh, so he wants to play this game?_ Jisung thought to himself. His shoulders relaxed and he created an innocent gleam to his now, wide doe eyes that made anyone weak at the knees. Hyunjin gulped when Jisung approached him with those eyes and slightly pouted lips. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, but it surely hadn’t been for the painter to slither his arms around his neck and brush his lips across his throat, jaw, and earlobe.

 

“Will you please get the tea down?” Jisung inquired cutely, the curly wisps of hair framing his face tickling Hyunjin’s cheek and Jisung smirked to himself when he heard Hyunjin gulp and shiver at the painter’s light touches. Hyunjin detached himself from Jisung, eyeing him wearily before darting over to the cabinets in hopes of the painter not noticing his inflamed cheeks and lips tucked between his teeth and receiving harsh abuse from the pearly whites.

 

“You’re very brave for trying that. You could have gotten hurt if I wasn’t so unopposed to it,” Hyunjin spoke over his shoulder, trying to word his phrasing carefully once the tea was done and Jisung had sat himself down at the island in the middle of the kitchen, frightful of saying something wrong that could send all of this spiraling downwards. Jisung laughed around his tea, low but somewhat genuine and Hyunjin’s stomach _churned_. It was nice to hear something genuine out of Jisung’s mouth that was positive, but Hyunjin had done nothing endure the painter’s cruelty and harshness the whole night so it felt… odd.

 

Jisung didn’t say anything for a few moments, Hyunjin growing anxious and curious and actually turning to face the painter who was practically staring him down. Though, that didn’t seem to be an uncommon occurrence that happened between them. On the contrary, Jisung was looking at him like he knew something Hyunjin didn’t, “You’re a thief. I figured your morals and views of the world weren’t like everyone else’s,” Jisung murmured, and as convincing as it seemed, Hyunjin knew it wasn’t true and it had been for an entirely other reason. Hyunjin didn’t hear Jisung say it, but perhaps if he had, it would have sped up this whole process. “We know our own, thief,”

 

“Did you say something? Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Hyunjin flushed, swirling his spoon in the liquid inside his small mug.

 

“No. No, I didn’t say anything,” Jisung dismissed but Hyunjin wasn’t sure how much he believed that. He didn’t question it though and allowed a thick but comfortable silence to fall over them. Hyunjin tried his best to not look at Jisung, but when he did, the painter was always staring at him and Hyunjin’s cheeks would flush. Jisung thought this thief was absolutely fascinating, and apart of him just had to know how his brain _ticked_. “I think that’s a long enough break, thief. Let’s start so I can send you home and I can be left in peace,” Jisung croaked out when they both were done with their tea. Hyunjin followed the painter up the stairs and back into the painting room now enveloped in the moonlight. It was… beautiful and a part of Hyunjin wished it could stay that way, especially with Jisung stood in the middle of the room with his collar bones exposed but glimmering from the natural light outside.

 

Images flashed in Hyunjin’s mind, fantasies where Hyunjin enveloped Jisung in his arms and feathered butterfly kisses against the painter’s exposed skin, but as quickly as they appeared they were forced away from Hyunjin and his fears. What the fuck was his deal? Sure, he found guys attractive but he had never been this… hooked on a guy before. He hadn’t even wanted to kiss one or make them flushed to the point where they were vulnerable. But yet, here he was, falling for the man that owns the house that he tried to rob that he didn’t even know the name of.

 

Hyunjin stumbled over to the stool when Jisung flickered on the lights, trying his best to relax but his thoughts were consuming him and he could tell he was frustrating Jisung to the highest degree with his inability to stop moving or twitching. Hyunjin flinched when Jisung let out a loud huff, pulling out what looked like a highly expensive, vintage hair clip and the golden hair previously in a bun fell to his shoulders and Hyunjin sucked in a sharp breath. How the absolute fuck was he so _gorgeous_? How could a man be so captivating? Hyunjin didn’t know but he was scared to keep coming back for the sake of his heart. “What is your name, thief?” Jisung spat, glaring a bit more harshly when Hyunjin flinched at his tone.

 

“Hwang Hyunjin,” Hyunjin sputtered out without another thought but squeezing his eyes shut in disappointment when he realized he just willingly gave this guy his name. Fuck, he was going to jail. He was going to get caught. “And you?”

 

“Han Jisung. But that’s not important. You won’t remember it. No one else does,” Hyunjin just barely heard that last part, and his heart sunk into his stomach. Hyunjin was scared to know what was behind that harsh, cold facade Jisung put up, but he found himself wanting to tear it down with every fiber of his being. Hyunjin would remember his name, he’d make sure of it. He’d tattoo it somewhere on his skin if he had to. “Well, Hwang Hyunjin,” Hyunjin shivered at the way it rolled off of Jisung’s tongue, “Get going. I’ll tell the man at the gate your name so you can come in like a normal human being.”

 

“So… you mean to tell me… you went to one of the houses in the gated community, got caught by the owner, he asked for a favor, and it was to _paint you?_ And now you’re just allowed in the community?” Chan all but said quietly, startling the others around them from sleep in the small apartment Chan and Seungmin shared. Hyunjin nodded, petting Minho’s hair to coax him back to sleep but the elder seemed pretty pissy by Chan’s sudden exclamation. “What the _fuck_ , Hyunjin?” Chan waved his arms around wildly, not caring if he was slowly but surely waking up everyone passed out around them.

 

“Listen, I know, but keep it down will you? The others are asleep, hyung,” Hyunjn murmured with a slightly upset tone when Jeongin began to whimper slightly from being woken up. Felix, despite being asleep, sensed the younger’s distress and wrapped him up in his arms. Hyunjin felt relief flood through him when Jeongin relaxed immediately and fell right back into his sleepy state now in the comfort of his partner’s arms. Now, Minho was awake and watching them with a pout that both Hyunjin and Chan noticed, “You could just go over there and cuddle them you know? I don’t think they’d care,” Hyunjin hushed, coursing his fingers through Minho’s locks and stroking along the apples of his cheeks and temples occasionally. Minho did nothing but eye them wearily.

 

“I don’t want to deceive them. I don’t think I can hold them while knowing I can’t have them,” Minho hushed, voice cracking slightly and Hyunjin sighed softly. Chan patted Minho’s chest lightly.

 

“Just tell them, love. Even if they don’t feel that way about you, I doubt they’ll treat you any differently from how they do now,” Chan reassured, moving his hands so he was massaging the younger’s tense shoulders, but at the time, Minho looked like he was going to burst into tears any minute now. Suddenly, Minho lifted himself out of Hyunjin’s lap, sitting on the edge of the couch like he was ready to stand up but never quite making the move to.  

 

“I think I’m going to head out,” Minho croaked, and Hyunjin nodded, rubbing a comforting hand into his back to let him know he was there. “Have a good day at work, Jinnie,” Minho curled back to plant a kiss to his forehead and Hyunjin hummed in content. Minho was the best big brother Hyunjin had ever had, even if they weren’t actually related. Minho was there for him when no one else was, but still cracked jokes the next day when Hyunjin did nothing but crave normality after a day of absolute pity and sorrow. Now, it was Hyunjin’s turn to do the same for Minho.

 

“Be safe, hyung,” Hyunjin paid him equal tribute, except his kiss, was above Minho’s left brow and another to his nose.

 

Minho was one foot out the door when Felix stirred awake, seeing Minho leaving with blurry eyes and groggy consciousness. “Hyung? I thought you didn’t have work today?” Felix murmured out innocently, a slight whistle to his tone from just waking up from a deep sleep and sat up so he had a better look at Minho through the darkness of the room.

 

“They called me in,” Minho lied and Felix nodded. Minho felt his body tense when Felix stood up and stumbled over to him to slither his arms around his back and bury his cheek into the elder’s chest. “Go back to bed, Lix,” Minho sighed, trying to pull away but every time he tried, Felix made a small noise in protest. Felix just shook his head like a small child and the keys in Minho’s left hand were starting to cut into his palm from how tightly he was gripping them.

 

“You’re not allowed to leave until I get a kiss,” Felix stubbornly ruled, lips pouted as he peered up at Minho with that gleam in his eyes that prompted Minho’s heart to speed up. Minho squeezed his eyes shut for a split second, peering over Felix’s shoulder towards Hyunjin and Chan who were absolutely useless in this entire situation. “Come on, hyung,” Felix’s deep voice purred into Minho’s collarbone and Minho gripped the back of Felix’s head before planting a kiss right in the middle of Felix’s forehead, “You missed,” Hyunjin and Chan were dying on the couch at that, trying their best to keep their snickers in as Felix openly flirted with Minho and the dance major obviously not knowing what to do about it.

 

“Felix…”

 

“Hyung, you missed,”

 

Minho promised he wasn't going to get into this tonight at that moment, and instead swooped down to press his lips carefully against the younger’s prominent cupid bow as if he was promising a kiss instead of actually giving one, “Patience, baby,” Minho purred when Felix whined, slipping out the door and leaving Felix stood in the doorway with a gobsmacked and furious expression.

 

“I can’t believe him,” Jeongin suddenly spoke up and that’s when Chan and Hyunjin lost it, clapping and laughing like a bunch of seals. “You just gave him a chance to actually kiss you and he didn’t take it. Is hyung okay in the head?” Jeongin pouted, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest.

 

“No, I don’t think so,” Changbin sighed in amusement from his place on the other side of the room, propped up against Woojin’s chest and now everyone was awake. It only made it more golden when Seungmin came stumbling out of his and Chan’s bedroom with the largest scowl on his face he’s seen in a long time. “Oh, he lives and breathes,” Changbin snickered at the younger finally appearing in the living room. Seungmin gave Changbin a glare for only a few seconds before he padded over to Chan behind the couch and letting the elder reach up to stroke along his cheek.

 

“Hey, sweetheart,” Chan murmured, pinching the younger’s cheek briefly before coaxing him around the couch and into his lap. Despite Seungmin being taller, the two always somehow managed to make the younger look smaller against Chan’s body. “Sleep well?” Chan murmured in question, smiling softly when Seungmin nodded his head and buried his cheek into Chan’s shoulder. Then, Chan’s attention was back on Hyunjin and the younger thief winced, “Tell him what bullshit you got into last night,” Chan hissed and Seungmin perked up in interest. Hyunjin jumped into his explanation and by the end of it, Seungmin hadn’t been angry but he sure was observant when he asked his question with a quirk of an eyebrow.

 

“Hyung…” Seungmin trailed off and Hyunjin hummed in acknowledgment, “Did you… was this painter perhaps cute?” Seungmin questioned, legs crossed and head cocked to the side in an innocent manner but Hyunjin knew better. Of course, he knew better, and Hyunjin wasn’t entirely sure how he was supposed to answer that question, “Hwang Hyunjin, did you finally join the rest of us and have your long awaited gay awakening?” Seungmin gasped dramatically but began giggling afterward.

 

All Hyunjin could do was utter, “That’s Hwang Hyunjin Hyung to you, brat,” and Seungmin broke out into squeals as he hit and shoved Hyunjin’s chest. “Listen, I don’t know yet, okay! I just met him! He’s weird! I just thought he was pretty!” Hyunjin gruffed out, standing up to escape the younger’s frantic grip. Seungmin pouted in his spot at that, but purring in delight when Chan pulled him back into his chest, “Alright okay,” Hyunjin breathed, swiping a hand through his hair and grabbing for his jacket to slip on over his shoulders, “I’m getting out of this gay love den before I lose my mi-,” Hyunjin started, but was cut off by his own yelp when several hands came up to slap at his ass playfully, “You guys are the worst!”

 

“Have a good day at school, baby doll!” Woojin called out jokingly right before the apartment door slammed and Hyunjin was met with the cool air of the morning. Though Hyunjin couldn’t get Han Jisung out of his head any easier than he could have in there, and quite frankly, he’s ready to bash his head against the wall. His thoughts of Jisung would only haunt him all through his lecture, all through his shift at work, even his dreams when he slept later before heading over to Jisung’s house, this time going through the gate and actually stood on the doorway. And even then, as he stood in front of the door after ringing the doorbell, all he could think about what the way Jisung’s eyes crinkled that one time he chuckled softly and just the hint of a smile Jisung spared him when he went out through the window.

 

Hyunjin wasn’t sure why he was so captivated by the painter, why his stone cold personality had dug his nails into Hyunjin’s skin and refused to let go, why the mere sight of Jisung’s hair falling onto his shoulders was just so… _heavenly_ , but Hyunjin pushed his feelings aside anyhow. He didn’t like Jisung, it was too soon, but he sure as hell was far too infatuated for it to be a real situation and he was just… waiting for it all to come down and crash and burn.

 

“Nice to know you took my advice, Hwang Hyunjin,” Hyunjin didn’t even hear the door open, but the empty tone of the painter snapped him right out of his daze like a cold bucket of icy water. Hyunjin sucked in a harsh breath, but his form remained relaxed and unmoving. This time, Jisung’s body was clad in a pair of pink socks with cute black bunnies on them, a pair of black sweatpants that were slightly less baggy than the other ones giving Hyunjin a clearer look of how skinny his legs were, and a pink sweater that matched the tone of his socks. It was cute, soft, but his eyes were anything but, “Come on in so we can get started,” Jisung lead Hyunjin up the stairs, situating him down on the stool so he was in the same position he had been in before, and Hyunjin went pliant under Jisung’s hands. What happened to his undying stubbornness?

 

“Are we painting today? Or still drawing?” Hyunjin wondered when Jisung sat down at his own chair, pulling the canvas a bit closer so he didn’t have to strain himself.

 

“We’re painting today,” Jisung murmured, grabbing some oil paint tubes from the drawers of his rolling table and pulling the paint brush out of his hair. Jisung put together a mix of a color that vaguely resembled Hyunjin’s skin tone, mixing tiny amounts of blue with Orange and white to create a duller tone and then walking over to Hyunjin to place the palette right next to his cheek. Hyunjin’s eyes flickered from Jisung and the palette with confusion mixed with fear evident in his features. Jisung ignored him, smiling smugly to himself when he realized the paint was a perfect match, “Not bad, Jisung, not bad,” Jisung muttered to himself and moved backward, Hyunjin letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding now that Jisung wasn’t so close. And then, a silence fell over them and Hyunjin hated how tense it was. “Relax your shoulders. You’re too tense,” Jisung frowned, and Hyunjin felt his shoulders tense a little more before they relaxed all together, and Jisung looked content.

 

Hyunjin’s full body was aching by the time they reached the hour and a half mark, having given out one more exasperated huff before Jisung put down his brush and told Hyunjin he could take a break. “I need to work on my posture,” Hyunjin murmured to himself, trying his best to stretch out his shoulders in an effective way as Jisung gathered all of his brushes to clean in the sink. Soon enough, Jisung gently gripped the sleeve of Hyunjin’s shirt to gather his attention and turn it towards walking down the stairs for some tea and snacks. “You got anything sweet in this cabinets?” Hyunjin inquired as he opened and closed the cabinets and drawers in search of food but was only met with disappointment.

 

“Maybe. I haven’t been to the store in a while so don’t get your hopes up,” Jisung’s voice was a lot slower, a lot softer when he spoke as if he were vulnerable to the idea of actually leaving the house, “I don't get to leave the house very often. My painting requires a lot of my time,” Jisung explained but Hyunjin only turns towards him with a smile Jisung knew he didn’t deserve. Jisung knew he should stop being so… cold to this man but he was scared. What if he found out? What if he already knew and was just trying to get a hold of Jisung so he could milk him of his money? Or worse have a few seconds of fame because he exposed Jisung for who he was and ruin his whole life? All these what ifs ran through his head at such a rapid and intense speed that he barely noticed Hyunjin’s little noise of happiness when he found a pack of cookies towards the back of a cupboard next to Jisung’s head.

 

Jisung snapped out of it when something was pressed to his lips, yelping a bit at the rough texture before realizing it was just a chocolate chip cookie, “Sory, didn’t mean to scare you, but you should eat too. You look like you don’t eat much,” Hyunjin shyly apologized, flinching a bit when Jisung tore the cookie out of Hyunjin’s hand and began to nibble on it with cold eyes.

 

“It’s rude to sneak up on people,” Jisung scolded, prompting Hyunjin to apologize profusely while Jisung made tea for the both of them, “It’s fine. Stop apologizing like that. Your squeaky voice is giving me a headache,” Jisung snapped suddenly, but he gulped when Hyunjin scowled in his direction with a certain coldness.

 

“You don’t have to be so rude,” Hyunjin snapped back, not realizing it at the time but backing Jisung into the countertop he was stood in front of. “I know I broke into your home, but this is ridiculous,” Hyunjin’s voice rose a few levels, startling Jisung and causing him to tense up and back away like a small child. “I get it, okay? I got caught, and you’re pissed but I doubt you would have missed anything you had anyway! You could probably replace everything here within two hours if you really wanted to!” Hyunjin was breathing heavily at this point, face red from anger and Jiusng was beginning to grow scared of the thief. So, with soft, small hands, Jisung touched Hyunjin’s chest to nudge him away and his cool touch seemed to soothe Hyunjin out of his anger filled trance.

 

A silence fell over them as Hyunjin stared down at Jisung, realizing the fear that was evident in his eyes and backing away a bit. Though Jisung never took his cool hands away from Hyunjin’s chest and he found himself studying Jisung like the pieces of art he’s created, like he was the most beautiful, fascinating thing in the world. “You’re right… I’m sorry,” Jisung hushed, looking away from Hyunjin’s soft gaze but when he glanced back, Hyunjin was smiling the smile that made his eyes look like crescents and Jisung wanted to run his fingers along them. He not only wanted to remember the sight by mental memory but physical memory as well. Hyunjin moved away completely and nibbled on his lower lip.

 

“I’m sorry for yelling,” Hyunjin hushed.

 

“It’s okay,” Jisung hushed back and when a silence fell over them, Hyunjin stuck out his hand asking for a handshake.

 

“Truce?”

 

“Truce.”

  
  
  
  


The third visit was much more… calm than Hyunjin had expected, but this time he couldn’t come in through the front door. It just didn’t feel right. So, he climbed up the side of the building, _praying_ that Jisung would be in the room or the window was unlocked like last time. Though Hyunjin was pleasantly surprised to find that the window was open of all things. However, when he had one leg in, Jisung came in, startled and holding what looked like a pan and ready to start swinging, “Hey! Hey! It's just me!” Hyunjin shrieked, dodging the younger’s swings and managing to hold Jisung’s arms down at his sides so he couldn’t possibly knock Hyunjin out after a hit to the head.

 

“Why were you coming in through the window?!” Jisung shrieked so loudly Hyunjin’s ears rang a little bit.

 

“Why do you have a fucking pan?!” Hyunjin shrieked back and neither one answered the other’s questions. They simply relaxed in the other’s presence before Hyunjin finally let the other go and they immediately settled into their places. Tonight, Jisung was wearing a thin, white t-shirt and a pair of grey sweat shorts that really exposed his tan, skinny legs and Hyunjin was really starting to worry if Jisung ate enough. Though, Jisung cooed a little bit when he saw Jisung’s Grey fuzzy socks with fried eggs all over them. “Those are cute, where did you get those?” Hyunjin inquired, a bit taken back by the painter’s wide eyes somehow widening even more but in this time with pure excitement, but it made his heart lurch nonetheless.

 

“My mom used to just buy me multiple pairs every weekend. I think the place is shut down though. I have an extra pair!” Jisung exclaimed in excitement before darting out of the room for a few minutes. Hyunjin smiled to himself fondly but smacked himself internally. He was a whole ass 24-year-old but he felt giddy like a damn teenager around Jisung. It didn’t take long for the painter to come running back inside with a bundled up pair of socks that matched Jisung’s. “This is the only thing I’ll ever let you take from my home, Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung admitted with a finger pointing in Hyunjin’s direction but the elder’s eyes sparkled and at that moment, they both knew that was one of the fattest lies Jisung would ever tell him. “Here. Do you want some water or something before we get started?” Hyunjin only nodded his head yes.

 

Jisung went padding back out of the room, and Hyunjin slipped off his jacket as soon as he was gone. He began to unlace his shoes and slip them off along with his socks. He had just slipped on the socks when Jisung came back in with a bottle of water. “These are nice,” Hyunjin wiggled his toes at the same time he made a mildly disturbing face.

 

“I will kick you out of my home if you do that again, Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung threatened with a paintbrush and Hyunjin did absolutely nothing but smile brightly until Jisung helped him get into his original position. Then, a silence fell over them and Hyunjin was left with ringing ears once more and he hated every minute of it. On the contrary, he actually felt like he could do something about it this time and spoke up with some hesitance.

 

“Could we… Could we play some music or something? My ears are ringing,” Hyunjin inquired shyly when Jisung briefly took a break to mix more paint. Jisung stopped momentarily, not really expecting that, but figuring some music couldn’t hurt. So, Hyunjin watched Jisung leave his seat to grab his phone from the dresser against the wall and walk towards the wall where the light switches were. Hyunjin jumped a bit, not expecting something above him to jingle, but he realized quickly it was just the speaker turning on. Jisung tapped something on his phone and the speaker beeped before classical music began to play through the room and Hyunjin relaxed at the comfy atmosphere around them. Jisung seemed pretty content, so Hyunjin had no choice but to be as well. The painter practically controlled the whole atmosphere between the two anyway.

 

“How old are you, Hwang Hyunjin?” Jisung inquired suddenly, and Hyunjin flustered for a moment.

 

“Turned 24 in March,” Hyunjin hummed.

 

“Ah, so that makes you, my Hyung then,” The idea of Jisung calling Hyunjin hyung was kind of unsettling considering they’ve been nothing but rude to each other this whole time, but Hyunjin sure wasn’t complaining, “I turn 24 in September,” Jisung broke the silence after a few seconds, prompting Hyunjin to quirk his eyebrows in shock.

 

“There’s no need for Hyung then. We are the same year of course,” _and I like the way you say my full name but that’s not important._ Jisung chuckled lowly and nodded before continuing his task. Hyunjin didn’t hate the silence that fell over them this time, because it was comfortable, and that’s all Hyunjin could ever ask of anyone. Though, it felt like it had been a good two hours before Hyunjin called a break of his own, “Ok, fuck, I tried to give you some extra time but I feel like I’m dying in this chair,” Jisung’s eyes immediately snapped to the clock on the wall behind Hyunjin’s head and they widened considerably when he realized how much time had passed.

 

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, I lost track of time. That’s why I don’t really put on music,” Jisung admitted, rubbing the back of his head before gathering all of his brushes to clean them. The room had a much warmer glow to it that night, and Hyunjin wasn’t quite sure why but it felt so cozy to Hyunjin. “Don’t you dare go near that painting, Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung called out suddenly when he heard Hyunjin’s footsteps wander around the room. Jisung stuck by his claim of Hyunjin not being allowed to see it until it was finished and Hyunjin was too scared to test him on his swearing or not. Jisung may have been small but he was a stubborn, strong little fucker at the end of the day. Hyunjin didn’t have to know him that well to know that specifically.

 

“I’m gonna go make some food while you’re cleaning up,” Hyunjin proclaimed before darting down the stairs and sifting through the kitchen like he fucking lived there. Jisung found it rather baffling that after only a month of Hyunjin visiting and coming in and out of Jisung’s home at questionable hours of the morning that Hyunjin acted the way he did, but he had to admit that it was so nice to have someone else around, someone to talk to or just merely be in their presence without it being forced or some sort of adult transaction. “Do you want ramen or some pizza?” Hyunjin yelled out so loudly, it would surely shake the walls but Jisung remained unfazed.

 

“Ramen!” Jisung answered back, just as loudly before tapping the brushes against the side of the sink to get rid of the excess water before swirling them inside a bunched up towel. By the time Jisung got off all the paint on his hands, The ramen was just starting to cook and Hyunjin had been humming to himself quietly. It wasn’t a song that Jisung recognized at all and he was a huge music listener so he was a little more than curious, “what are you humming there?” Jisung inquired before lowering himself down in the chair at the island that he always sits at. Hyunjin startled at Jisung presence, never hearing him come in, and looked over his shoulder with a slight scowl.

 

“It’s rude to sneak up on people,” Hyunjin mocked, and instead of Jisung getting offended as he had expected, the painter simply winked and smirked.

 

“Payback,” Jisung shrugged casually, resting his chin in the palm of his hand and resting his fingers on his cheekbone. Hyunjin just shook his head in disbelief and continued to make ramen while a thought occurred to Jisung, “you don’t look like someone who knows how to cook…” Jisung pointed out once he noticed how unsure and uncomfortable Hyunjin looked hovering over the stove. Hyunjin froze at that, not liking that Jisung seemed to be able to see right through him even with the tiniest of things.

 

“Well… I don’t normally…” Jisung jolted up in urgency. “I’ve only set off the fire alarm ten times and half of them weren’t even read fires!” Hyunjin whined as Jisung got up to shoo him away from the stove but that only seemed to make his case worse.

 

“Get away from the stove, Hwang Hyunjin, before you burn my whole house down,” Jisung demanded, nudging him away with a bit more force and making sure Hyunjin had sat down in one of the very comfortable island chairs before he turned his back to the elder. He wanted to make sure the thief didn’t try anything, despite knowing fully that he was eyeing absolutely everything expensive in this house. Though Jisung found it rather impressive that Hyunjin hadn’t snuck anything out yet. It may have seemed like Jisung didn’t know about everything he had, but he did and none of it was missing. “I just wanted to thank you for not swiping anything…” Jisung trailed off carefully, trying his best to do as much damage control as possible.

 

“Last time I tried, I had to get painted. Trust me, I learned my lesson,” Hyunjin joked, ignoring the way his chest heaved slightly at Jisung’s notice of his lack of wrongdoings.

 

“Guess I’m doing something right, hm?” Jisung hummed, but it sounded… unnecessarily solemn and Hyunjin had to hold himself from digging more. Did Jisung think he didn’t do anything right? Did he think he was useless or something? Jisung was far from useless, his talent with a brush was absolutely breathtaking and his quick-fire words were equally as breathtaking at times. Hyunjin didn’t know what he was anymore, all he knew was that Jisung had become an infatuation and he swore to the heavens above if anyone ever hurt Jisung or make him feel like gum on the bottom of their shitty shoes, he’d kill them. Was it probably too early to have such thoughts? Yeah. Did Hyunjin care? Only a little bit, and it was only when Hyunjin wasn’t in the safety of Jisung’s home.

 

Hyunjin frowned down at the island, too deep in thought to realize Jisung had placed a steaming bowl of ramen underneath his face and called out to him in a teasing voice, “What did the ramen ever do to you?” Jisung joked, poking Hyunjin’s side with his chopstick and knocking him out of his trance. Hyunjin nearly choked on his own spit, prompting the painter to hit against his back a bit to help him out. Hyunjin’s breath was sporadic once he calmed down and his cheeks were flushed a deep red, somehow deepening when cold hands cupped around his jaw and pivoted his head towards Jisung, “Is everything okay?” Jisung prodded with concern and Hyunjin nodded, swallowing thickly. Jisung still seemed unsure but quit prying and let go of Hyunjin’s jaw and the thief felt like he could breathe properly again.

 

“His lips are so pretty…” Hyunjin whispered to himself, not even realizing he was saying it out loud until Jisung sputtered on his ramen a bit.

 

“What was that?” Jisung managed to get out through a fit of coughs and Hyunjin’s ears were on fire.

 

“Nothing!” Hyunjin yelped out before stuffing his face with a mouthful of ramen so he could dodge any further questions. Except, there wasn’t any and when Hyunjin went to go turn to Jisung shyly, his face wasn’t even an inch away from his own and Hyunjin still had ramen in his mouth. His already warm, pink cheeks somehow got significantly worse and Jisung grinned fondly as his fingertips lifted up to run a thumb across his own lips while looking Hyunjin dead in the eye. Hyunjin managed to swallow his ramen before Jisung moved away, the painter acting like nothing happened and Hyunjin wondered if maybe he had imagined the whole thing.

 

Well… that was until Jisung got up to put his bowl in the sink and hushed into Hyunjin’s ear.

 

“Take me on a date first, Hwang Hyunjin,”

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Holy fuck…” Woojin trailed off from beside Hyunjin, hands on the steering wheel as he lowered himself down at an uncomfortable angle to look outside Hyunjin’s window to see the massive mansion in front of them. Hyunjin nodded, playing with his earring slightly in nervousness, “You’re telling me one man lives here, and he’s younger than both of us…” Woojin questioned in disbelief, and yeah, Hyunjin knew how crazy it sounded. However, he still nodded his head in confirmation and Woojin still gaped at the house owlishly, “Do you think he’s got any rich gay friends who wouldn’t mind being in a poly relationship with two part-time thieves?” Hyunjin’s eyes rolled into the back of his heads.

 

“None of that, hyung. Besides, you and the others are basically dating anyway,” Hyunjin pointed out and Woojin raised his hands in surrender. “I don’t think he has any friends anyways… He seems pretty lonely,” Hyunjin murmured in worry, eyebrows furrowed and lips pulled into a tiny pout.

 

“He’s got you, right?” Woojin questioned and Hyunjin nodded hesitantly, “Than he’s got at least one friend,” Woojin shrugged as if it was nothing. A part of Hyunjin wanted to turn to Woojin, make him drive off to a more private area where they could talk and Hyunjin could talk through all of the thoughts in his head but he didn’t get that far as the front door to the massive mansion opened and Jisung was stood in the doorway with a pout on his lips. The car went silent, “Fuck, you didn’t tell me he had a man bun, how could you?” Woojin smacked at Hyunjin’s arm a few times as Hyunjin unbuckled his seat belt. “You have an hour, Hwang. Make it quick. I’ll be here if something goes wrong,” Woojin uttered before shoving Hyunjin out of the car and making him approach the younger.

 

Jisung was huddled on his porch, hugging himself and trembling despite being in what looked like a thick, black sweater, black sweatpants, and black socks with little pumpkins all over them. “Hey,” Jisung hushed when Hyunjin approached him, not expecting him to be there in broad daylight, much less with another human being. Hyunjin greeted Jisung with a shy nod and a glance down to the ground, “Hey… um…” Jisung started, eyeing Woojin’s car and his neighbors’ houses wearily, “Will you tell your friend to park in the garage? I don’t want my neighbors confronting them because their car looks sketchy compared to their fancy rich cars,” Jisung sneered slightly at the mention of his neighbors and Hyunjin nodded. “Go ahead and bring them in too. I’ll make some tea,” Jisung smiled before escaping back into the house and shutting the door behind him.

 

Hyunjin trailed back over to Woojin’s car, knocking on the window and gathering his attention. Hyunjin waited rather impatiently for the window to roll down. “Hey, he said to park in the garage and come inside so the neighbors don’t give you a hard time,” Then, he was walking back down the path while Woojin pulled into the garage and slipped in through the front door. Hyunjin had enough kindness in his heart for his hyung to wait at the garage entrance so he could guide him to the kitchen without getting lost, which Woojin appreciated wholeheartedly. The sight in the kitchen made Hyunjin’s heart flutter, but whose heart wouldn’t flutter when they caught Han Jisung dancing lightly around the kitchen, singing softly to himself and occasionally giggling to himself when he accidentally knocked into something. This was Han Jisung, and Hyunjin felt like he was falling far faster than he should have been. “Cute,” Hyunjin made their presence known with a word of endearment, and Jisung stopped dancing with flushed cheeks.

 

“Well, don’t stop now. You just barely started,” Woojin murmured from beside Hyunjin, voice meant to be teasing but Hyunjin saw his hyung’s heart failing too. Jisung stared Woojin down, not quite to the extent that he did with Hyunjin all the fucking time, and something about that made Hyunjin feel a bit smug.

 

“Hyunjin, you didn’t tell me you had a cute friend…” Jisung purred, leaning over the island counter as Hyunjin padded over to him to sift through his cabinets to find some cookies. Hyunjin tensed up at Jisung’s words, the tone making everything so much worse. Hyunjin managed to squeak out something about Woojin having a boyfriend, but Jisung just hummed in acknowledgment, “That’s okay. You’re not looking for a third are you?” Jisung kept his attention trained on Woojin and Hyunjin felt the life in his heart die along with the words in his throat and he looked between the two in complete and utter _defeat_.

 

Suddenly, Woojin turned towards Hyunjin, “I am this,” Woojin held up his fingers in a pinching motion to reveal little space between his pointer finger and thumb, “Close, Hyunjin,” And with that warning, Hyunjin slipped his large, warm palm along Jisung’s back like a cat coaxing their lifelong human back to them after they fell smitten for another cat in a short period of time. Jisung hummed at the touch, turning back towards Hyunjin and eyeing the glare the thief was sparing Woojin with a little tiny flicker of realization in his chest. Jisung stood up at that but fell back against Hyunjin’s shoulder and arm and tickling his hair into Hyunjin’s jaw. “I’m Woojin,” the eldest of the three introduced himself, sticking out his hand and Jisung took it politely with a beaming smile.

 

“Jisung,”

 

“Gotta last name, Jisung?”

 

“Han Jisung,” Hyunjin broke in suddenly, just so Woojin knew his place there. Though he would never admit this out loud for a while, Jisung much preferred it when Hyunjin said his name over anyone else, even himself. Jisung hummed in confirmation and unknowingly snuggled a bit further into Hyunjin’s side. Perhaps he should have started doing this a lot sooner because Hyunjin was so _warm_.

 

“Well, Han Jisung, you mind pointing me in the direction of your nearest restroom?” Woojin smiled brightly and Jisung laughed before nodding his head.

 

“It’s just down the hall. It’s the door next to the table with the blue vase of sunflowers,” Jisung hummed and Woojin farewelled before leaving the two to themselves. Jisung breathed in deeply before fully turning towards Hyunjin and slipping his arms around his waist underneath his coat, “Why the friend today, hm?” Jisung wondered, smiling to himself softly when Hyunjin hesitantly but eventually slipped his own arms around Jisung’s shoulders. Jisung was _freezing_.

 

“I can only be here for less than an hour and then we have a few… things we need to tend to,” Jisung frowned at Hyunjin’s vagueness, and lifted his head out of Hyunjin’s shoulder to really look at him. Even when Jisung was this close up, Hyunjin was still one of the most handsome men he had ever seen.

 

“Just… Just be careful will you?” Jisung muttered with uneasiness dripping from his tone and Hyunjin hated seeing the worry in the painter’s eyes. He would be fine.

 

“Aw, does Han Jisung, the same man who hated my guts almost two months ago, actually care for my well being?” Hyunjin teased with a slight grin, but Jisung’s frown only deepened at that and Hyunjin couldn’t help but let out a small, fond laugh as he stroked his thumb along the younger’s brow, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. It’ll be easy, we just need everyone there to pull it off,” Hyunjin shrugged but froze when he realized he said too much and now Jisung was ready to keep asking questions.

 

“Everyone? What the fuck? Explain -”

 

“Hey, is your house always this cold?” Woojin broke in without even realizing, stopping in his footsteps when he saw Jisung’s hands resting on Hyunjin’s chest as the younger peered up at him with furious curiosity. “Did…. Did I interrupt something?” Woojin awkwardly coughed out, ready to back out of the room but Jisung spoke up before he could.

 

“No, no, you’re fine. Sit down and have some tea,” Jisung coaxed with a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and Hyunjin’s chest felt heavy, especially when Jisung moved away from him to pour the tea and neither one of them could lie and say they missed the warmth of the other’s touch. “And yes, it is normally this cold. I have to keep it this cold so my paintings don’t mess up from the heat,” Jisung answered as he sat a cup of tea on the island beneath Woojin and the elder’s eyes popped out of his head. He already knew Jisung painted but he was going to feign innocence anyway for the sake of Hyunjin.

 

“You paint?”

 

“Yeah… I’m painting a portrait of Hyunjin right now.”

 

“Can I see?”

 

“Of course, follow me.”

 

“...Holy shit,” Woojin breathed out, eyes flickering from the painting to Hyunjin and then back to the painting over and over again until Hyunjin whined and huffed.

 

“Is that like your favorite phrase or something? I want to see the painting!” Hyunjin whined but Jisung pointed a paintbrush in his direction like he was going to stab him and Hyunjin flinched back onto his stool.

 

“No peeking, Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung scolded and Hyunjin deflated in his seat. Woojin looked between the two in complete and utter amazement before laughing in somewhat disbelief. “What, hyung?” Jisung questioned, sounding a bit exasperated and Woojin just kept snickering.

 

“Never in my life have I seen Hyunjin back down so quickly. Han Jisung, my dear sir, he’s whipped for you,” Hyunjin froze at his older friend’s laugh filled words, eyes darting down to the floor because fuck, how could Woojin do that to him? Hyunjin barely came to the conclusion that he had actual feelings for Jisung a few days ago but yet here was the elder outing him way before he was ready. Hyunjin half expected Jisung to freak out, tell him that he didn’t feel that way about Hyunjin before he kicked them both out but all he said was,

 

“I know,” and Hyunjin felt like he was about to pass out because this painter that he attempted to rob and had a picture of Hyunjin (yet still hadn’t reported him) _knew_.

 

“When’s your birthday, Han Jisung? Let me buy you a cake of your liking so I can reward you for finally taming our little Hyunjinnie,” Woojin inquired as he messed up Hyunjin’s hair, causing the thief to make a noise of protest as he tried to fix it. Woojin was really fucking up everything for him and Hyunjin was so over it by that point.

 

“September 14, and strawberry please,” Jisung offered the elder a dazzling smile that made Hyunjin’s heart flutter. However, it would only get worse by the time they left because Hyunjin wasn’t allowed to leave without Jisung grabbing his jaw and holding it firmly in place, “Don’t be clumsy and don’t get caught. I still have to finish my painting,” Jisung hissed with stern, cold eyes that reminded Hyunjin of their first few encounters and he gulped, flickering his eyes away, “Be safe,” Jisung whispered suddenly though, much softer than he had been before and pressing a kiss to Hyunjin’s cheek and shoving him out through the door, closing it in his face and locking it.

 

Hyunjin was a smiling mess the whole way back to the car, “Got your good luck kiss, Hyunjinnie?” Woojin cooed, going to pinch the cheek that Jisung kissed but Hyunjin swatted it away.

 

“Don’t touch it. I’m gonna need it tonight if I have to endure all of you tonight,”

  
  
  


“So, I met the painter,” Woojin uttered into the quiet backseat of the black van Changbin was driving at the time. Changbin slowed down a bit in shock, peering through his mirror at Woojin in question as Jeongin turned around from his place beside him at the front with the question burning on the tip of his tongue. Hyunjin’s cheek tingled as if it were settling the irritation bubbling in his chest.  

 

“Really? What’s he like, hyung?” It was a gasp, like an excited child that hadn’t gotten to see much of the world but when he did, he made the absolute most of it. Hyunjin couldn’t help but frown at the far too true idea. “What did he look like? Is he as beautiful as Hyunjin says he is?” Jeongin kept firing question after question, and Hyunjin tugged the mask down to cover his flushing, hot cheeks. Though he would never admit this, a smile tugged at Hyunjin’s lips at the thought of the young painter.

 

“He’s prettier than Hyunjin makes him out to be,” Woojin hummed, and Hyunjin let out a groan when he saw Chan stop cleaning his pistol for a second and shoot him a disapproving look.

 

“You’re not doing your job right,” Chan pointed out with the tiniest of smirks, flickering his eyes over to Seungmin for a split second who was too busy working out last minute kinks in their plan, “You always make them out to be more beautiful than they are. Gives them a huge confidence boost,” Though, Seungmin heard it loud and clear and flickered his eyes up to him in a scowl. “Sorry, sweetheart,” Chan shrugged but all he got was a pencil flying his way and a fit of laughter at his slight shriek.

 

“ _Anyways_ ,” Felix snapped in suddenly, really not wanting them to fall into another fit of bickering. It wasn’t uncommon for Chan and Seungmin to get into spats when they working on a big mission, and they still had a few hours before this was all over. The least they could do was not put everyone on edge, “Tell us more, hyung. Is he nice?” Felix questioned, resting his chin on his palm with a lovesick stare and Minho matched it… except he was staring at Felix and everyone in the van felt like throwing up.

 

“He’s very nice. Offered me tea while we flirted in front of lover boy over there, and he’s incredibly talented. I approve,” Woojin shrugged, smirking at Changbin when the younger seemed slightly more intrigued by the flirting part, “Binnie, if he wasn’t so whipped for Hyunjin, I’d have taken you over to his house and have you two meet for other reasons,” Everyone’s noses scrunched up at the implication and Jeongin threw a few things his way in protest. “I’m just being honest you weak asses,” Woojin laughed out but everyone began groaning a bit more.

 

“There’s a difference between honesty and too much information, hyung,” Minho sighed out of boredom, resting his head on the walls of the van and fiddling with a few loose threads on his pants, “So, you said he was whipped… is he as whipped as Hyunjin?”

 

“He wasn’t whipped,” Hyunjin cut in with an icy glare that Woojin promptly ignored.

 

“He was totally whipped, but not quite as whipped as Hyunjin. As soon as Hyunjin touched him though, it was over for that painter,” Woojin grinned from ear to ear and Hyunjin sunk down in his seat with a groan. Chan kicked at his feet in protest and Hyunjin curled them back in, “It was cute,” Woojin complimented and Hyunjin was left fiddling with his thumbs, “Why are you so hesitant, love?” Woojin cocked his head to the side in curiosity and Hyunjin shrugged, dishearted.

 

“I don’t want to hurt him, or drag him into all of this,” Hyunjin hushed and Changbin’s shoulders slumped in pity.

 

“Jinnie?” Changbin called out to gather his attention, and Hyunjin didn’t hesitate to give it to him, “No one said he has to get involved. Just as long as he knows what's going on, he doesn’t need to be physically involved,” Changbin compromised, and Hyunjin guessed the elder was right. “We’ll talk about this later,” Changbin uttered before anyone else could but in, and parked the car at the front of the large bank, “Go do your magic, Innie,” Changbin smirked, unlocking the van and nudging the younger out. It was clear the younger was nervous, but this was the job Jeongin was best at, distracting, and if they were honest, the one where he was least abt to get caught.

 

“Yeah, sure, hyung,” Jeongin uttered, slipping out of the car in his regular clothing and jogging up to the front and Changbin watching him intently for the signal. Suddenly, Jeongin’s wrists rested behind his back and when he snapped twice after following the woman towards one of the offices, Changbin started driving.

 

“We have exactly ten minutes to get inside, open the vault, and grab whatever we can before they notice. Is everyone ready?” Chan spoke up, eyes flickering between everyone with a serious glint inside. When everyone nodded yes, Chan walked toward the back doors of the van and turned towards his team with a smile, “It’s payday, boys,” and Chan opened the door to let the rest leave. Though before Woojin could get very far, Changbin turned to grab his wrist to drag him back.

 

“Be careful, you clumsy, clumsy hyung,” Changbin whispered fondly, pecking Woojin sweetly on the lips and Woojin smiled down at him with an equal fond look.

 

“As long as you’re there to save me, it shouldn’t matter,” Woojin purred, and walking out of the van. “See you in ten, love,”

 

“See you in ten.”

 

The back of the bank was barren surprisingly, and Chan looked around cautiously, all of them being careful to stay out of view of the cameras placed about. Minho saw his look of confusion and crept forward to check the hallway out considering he was the best at being a silent figure in the shadows. “The guards are crowded together. I think they’re eating or something,” Minho whispered into the mic attached to his collar and Chan huffed. _Of course_. “I could try and distract them…” Minho whispered a bit further but Chan looked at him from across the hallway with a frantic shake of his head. Minho retreated back to Chan and eyed Felix wearily. The man was x-raying some of the walls and ceiling, but then… he grinned the widest he ever could.

 

“Hyung, there’s a duct that’s right over the vault. Someone can probably cut a hole inside and fall through,” Felix hushed into the mic and Chan furrowed his eyebrows.

 

“How are we going to get it out without attracting attention?” Chan hissed back but that’s when Seungmin stepped in.

 

“There’s a room right next door. It’s just a storage closet. I’ll cut a hole in the wall connecting them and shove the bags through. There’s no time for arguing, we have to _move_ ,”  Seungmin snapped quietly before taking the bag of hardware from Woojin and rushing off towards the small vent entrance at the upper part of the wall. Chan rushed after him, holding the table Seungmin had to stand on to get the metal casing off to make sure it was stable underneath the younger’s feet and even supporting his feet when Seungmin climbed inside. Seungmin shoved the bag along, and luckily that seemed to be their only issue.

 

The cutting of the metal went smoothly and Seungmin was able to get inside without hurting himself and as he began to gather all the money to stuff into the extra bags they kept in the tool bag, he started cutting open the wall to the room over. It was only a matter of time until he saw Chan’s wolf mask glaring him in the eye and Seungmin was shoving bags into the team’s waiting arms. There was a sickening amount of money inside, and the idea made Seungmin giddy inside. All until he realized he had two minutes to get as much as he could packed and in the van. “Don’t worry about time right now, I’ll keep you posted. Just keep packing,” Hyunjin reassured and Seungmin began to pack at a far more rapid speed. Though he only ended up joining him while keeping an eye on the time as well before he rushed Seungmin out, “go, go, go, I’m right behind you,” Hyunjin urged, turning back around to see security guards running their way.

 

Unfortunately, one of them managed to get ahold of Hyunjin and shoved him up against the wall in hopes of cuffing him, but Hyunjin was always ready for this. A hot coin, Changbin’s contribution to all of this, had been Hyunjin’s saving grace and he managed to headbutt the security guard so harshly, his nose began bleeding and pull out two coins that would only heat up instantly on harsh impact. So, with careful placement, Hyunjin smacked them right up against two exposed pressure points prompting the guard to fall to the ground with a hiss. Hyunjin’s legs kicked before he could even think, escaping out the back door they came in and seeing the car begin to move. “Go! Go!” Hyunjin waved at them, seeing the doors slam shut just as he leaped onto the side of the car, feet on the step and hands gripping the bars on the roof like they were his lifeline.

 

When he managed to shimmy his way to the passenger seat, he pulled open the door and slipped inside with a breath. Hyunjin aggressively pulled off the mask and threw it blindly toward the back of the car. Hyunjin was exhausted, adrenaline pumped, and kind of giddy, but the first thing he did was turn around and make sure they had everyone. Jeongin was shimmied between Woojin and Felix, and Minho had the unfortunate experience of sitting next to Chan with Seungmin in the leader’s lap. “Is everyone good?” Hyunjin breathed out and Jeongin smiled brightly.

 

“Physically and financially, hyung,” and Hyunjin felt at ease. He doesn’t think he’ll ever quite get over the adrenaline rush he gets everytime they pull off one of these. This had to be the most successful one so far. “There’s a lot of money here, Seungmin and I will start laundering through the flower shops,” and everyone was pleased.

 

“How about we go to dinner tonight boys?” Minho hummed but Changbin’s phone pinged with a notification and Changbin immediately turned the radio up. The news was all over the police radios and Minho slumped, “Ok, maybe not tonight then…” and everyone broke out into an almost disbelieving laughter. Hyunjin couldn’t help but smile because these were his boys and if maybe the thought of being able to be more than just a poor nursing school student for Jisung crossed his mind… that was his own business.

  
  
  
  
  


Jisung wasn’t sure what he was expecting when he had his mother over for dinner that night and told her all about the nice man he met. Was he expecting her to laugh softly and listen to his rambles fondly? Or perhaps ask questions and be a bit protective but overall supportive? He doesn’t think so, but he also didn’t expect her to blow up in his face, “Mama, he’s really sweet and he’s not going to hurt me,” Jisung frowned when she curled her nose up in slight distaste. She didn’t not support his sexuality but his situation was… _complicated_.

 

“Jisung, what if he finds out? You know the rules! Nobody is allowed to get close!” Jisung’s mother scolded, voice low in volume but high in aggression. Jisung gulped, flinching back a bit when she gripped his wrist tightly, “You know what they’ll do to us if they find out about this… if this man finds out about everything and spills it to the public, we’ll be gone before the week ends,” The woman hissed, but Jisung failed to see the fear in her eyes, the fear of not her fate, but her sons. She wished she could give him a normal life but there’s nothing she can do now. “You have to stop seeing him,” The woman ordered without another thought, slamming her wine glass on the coffee table and getting up off of the couch.

 

“Mama…” Jisung whimpered, not wanting her to dictate his life this much but she was all he had, “mama, please, I’m so lonely, and he’s so nice… he makes me feel special like I’m the most beautiful thing in the world…” Jisung hushed with flushed cheeks but shy eyes, staring down at his twirling thumbs.

 

“Listen to you, boy. You’re lovesick for a man you’re not even _dating_ ,” The woman sighed in exasperation, deep circles under her eyes and even deeper wrinkles along her forehead, “Your father made me feel the exact same way and well, we know where that ended up,” she sighed, and Jisung’s eyes fell to his lap, he could already feel tears welling up in his eyes. Jisung was just so _lonely_ and _empty_ , he needed someone if he was going to make it to his older years. Suddenly, a hand gripped his jaw and he was forced to look up into his mother’s eyes, “Love, you are not to see him anymore and get your thoughts of needing someone out of your head. You have me and that’s all you need,” and then Jisung felt a kiss press to his forehead that made him freeze.

 

Jisung loved his mother, he really did, but this wasn’t what he wanted with his life. He wanted to go out and see the world while letting the world see inside his head through his paintings. Jisung wanted to go out with a group of friends for a few drinks, have a one night stand or a deep conversation with a stranger. He wanted to fall in love, get married, _have kids_. But instead, he’s been stuck inside his own little bubble with no way out.

 

All until a thief fell into his bubble with a way in and out, and Jisung wasn’t sure what to do. Did he follow him? Did he take his hand and say ‘fuck you, world’ and live the life he wants? He wanted to, but Jisung wasn’t stupid enough to actually do it. Not with the contracts in place. It was never that simple. Jisung was chained down and the only one who had the key was his dad. “I should really get going, love. Just remember what I said, yeah?” And then she was gone and Jisung Just really wanted some ice cream and to curl up on the couch and sleep for an eternity. So, he waited about half an hour to slip on his shoes, pull his hood up, and get in his car so he could drive down to the corner store and get some mint chocolate chip ice cream.

 

He doesn’t really remember the car journey there oddly enough, just getting out of the car and walking out into the cold night before reaching the weird stained glass door, pulling it open and stepping into the humid store. Jisung shuffled along, ignoring the familiar figure stood at the register and darting towards the back where all the ice cream was kept. And if he stuffed a few more blankets under his arms on the way back, that was entirely his own business. Jisung knew his eyes were swollen red from letting himself cry a little in the car before he drove over, and that was the prime reason he didn’t look up when he reached the counter. Jisung simply slid the items across the counter and looked anywhere but the worker. All until he caught sight of far too familiar hands and his head snapped up, startling the all too familiar man behind the counter. “Jisung?”

 

“Hey,” Jisung croaked out after coughing a bit, flushing and looking back down again. The crimson on his cheeks only worsened when Hyunjin grasped his wrist to gather his attention.

 

“Hey… what’s wrong?” Hyunjin inquired softly, stroking his thumb along the veins of Jisung’s wrist and pouting cutely. Jisung was thankful Hyunjin wasn’t dumb enough to ask if he was okay when it was clear he wasn’t and didn’t become too frantic. Hyunjin remained calm, stone-like almost and Jisung was thankful that Hyunjin still remained somewhat stable when it felt like everything else was crumbling. A crumbling sanity can do a lot more damage than anyone can realize. “Jisung?” Hyunjin questioned a bit more, giving his wrist a squeeze that knocked him out of his trance and had the younger painter’s attention on him.

 

“Don’t worry about it, Hyung,” Now Hyunjin definitely knew something was wrong; Jisung never called him hyung. If that alone didn’t make Hyunjin slightly more worried, than Jisung’s slightly glassier eyes and the more aggressive tremble of his lower lip sure did.

 

“Do…” Was he overstepping his boundaries by asking this? “Do you want me to stop by your house when I get off? My shift ends in an hour or so,” Hyunjin inquired and when Jisung sucked in a harsh breath and let his face fall, Hyunjin thought he might have, but Jisung’s hesitant latch of Hyunjin’s own wrist as well and tracing a yes over his skin, Hyunjin grinned, “I’ll come over soon,” and then Hyunjin was bagging his items and sending him on his way, and Jisung wished Hyunjin had been holding his unoccupied hand to the car and held his thigh while Jisung drove back. That was a faraway fantasy though, something he couldn’t have and completely unrationalized.

 

The fact of the matter was that Jisung was emotionally inexperienced. Not only had he been sheltered from the world his whole life, but his mother also trained him to shove everything down until he couldn’t feel anymore. Unfortunately, when Hwang Hyunjin popped into his life like a mint after drinking iced lemonade, cold and slightly painful but refreshing, Jisung’s body didn’t quite know what to do with itself. And that’s why he was here, driving home with tears tracking down his cheeks again, melting ice cream in the passenger's seat, and a vice grip on the steering wheel that held far less control than it should have. Jisung was unstable and he needed someone to stabilize him again.

 

Hyunjin wasn’t sure what to make of the situation. He had gone to work that night as to not cause any sort of suspicion with the recent robbery, but he expected it to be a long, dull night like it had always been and for Han Jisung to not show up with tears in his eyes and a vulnerable facade. But he guessed the week had already been pretty crazy, too crazy for something like this _not_ to happen. All that ran through his head as his feet scuffled on the concrete was the sight of Jisung pouting as he traced ‘yes’ into his skin before walking away with a bag of melting ice cream and a multitude of fuzzy blankets that were probably worth more than the entire store in itself.

 

It was far too cold for him to be walking such a distance but Hyunjin had already long accepted the fact that he was way too whipped for Jisung and he figured that the red nose, blue fingers, and jittering teeth were worth the price of seeing Jisung pull open the door in his soft clothes with his hair down and a vulnerable glint in his eyes. He looked like he needed a hug. “Hey,” Jisung croaked out, Hyunjin nodding in acknowledgment with a grin only for Jisung to see and the younger leaned forward, arms slithering around Hyunjin’s waist and Jisung held him close to his torso by the shoulders. It was a good hug, they had to admit that, but they would never admit feeling the other’s erratic heart beating against their chests. “Come in,” Jisung hushed, pulling away and turning back towards the door to walk back inside the house. Hyunjin whined lowly in his throat when the house wasn’t much warmer than it was outside.

 

“Jesus Christ, it’s not even warmer in here,” Hyunjin complained, rubbing his hands up and down his own arms, and Jisung rolled his eyes.

 

“I guess we’re cuddling then, Hwang,” and then Jisung was pulling Hyunjin over to the couch, shoving him down and draping four different blankets across him. “Lay down,” Jisung instructed, and Hyunjin laid back after slipping off his thick coat and shoes. It didn’t take long for Jisung to slip underneath the covers and press his back up against Hyunjin’s chest. Was it weird at first? Sure. But Hyunjin seemed to know how to relax people and snaked an arm around Jisung’s upper torso and bury his face into Jisung’s hair.

 

“You wanna talk about it?”

 

“Not really, hyung,”

 

“Okay,” and then it was quiet and Jisung was putting on a movie to get rid of the silence. Ironically enough, it was a Disney movie, tangled, and Hyunjin was invested in it while Jisung found himself biting down on his lower lip until it was bleeding. It tasted bad on his tongue, but Jisung hid it well from Hyunjin for the most part, but he thinks Hyunjin caught the muscle dripping blood a bit before Jisung licked it away. Hyunjin didn’t pry though and he was thankful for that.

 

“You look exhausted. Go to sleep,” Hyunjin uttered after the third movie, seeing Jisung trying his best to stay awake but failing miserably by fading in and out of consciousness.

 

“Then who’s going to let you out for the night?” Jisung complained slowly, the long drawl of words mimicking that of a child when they didn’t get what they wanted.  

 

“Don’t worry about it, Ji. Just get some rest will you?” Hyunjin laughed a bit into his hair and Jisung pouted a bit more. He was just on the brink of sleep when Hyunjin began to shift and move out from between the back of the couch and Jisung’s body. Jisung made a whine in the back of his throat, but Hyunjin tucked the blankets a bit firmer around his body and stroked the side of his head. “Goodnight, Han Jisung. Sleep well,”

 

Hyunjin was a few steps away when Jisung spoke up, making him freeze in his spot for a moment because he thought that Jisung had long since fallen asleep once he put his shoes and jacket on, “Goodnight, Hwang Hyunjin. Stay safe,” Jisung murmured sleepily and Hyunjin kept the soft smile that produced on his lips afterward on his whole way back home and even as he was falling asleep in his bed. Han Jisung was interesting by every degree. To an extent, he was as open as a book that had fallen open, but he was as closed off and cryptic as a poem that could be interpreted 50 different ways. One minute he was snappy and cold and then the next he was soft and vulnerable. Han Jisung was quite the fucking character.

  
  
  
  


Something about this visit was oh so different and Hyunjin couldn’t quite pinpoint what was it was. At first, Hyunjin thought it was just because he almost lost his breath when he knocked on the door and Jisung answered it wearing a flannel button-up, ripped jeans, high top trainers and his hair pulled into a bun with Two Nordic braids going over each side of his head. Hyunjin had to admit that Jisung always looked cute when he was dressed softly, but he looked hot in these clothes. He seemed more… _confident_? “Well don’t you look snazzy,” Hyunjin snickered teasingly, eyes glimmering with playfulness and the second reason Hyunjin thought something was different was that Jisung laughed a genuine laugh and it made his heart flutter.

 

“I had to go a dinner tonight with my mother and her friend. I just haven’t had the chance to change,” Jisung explained with a fond smile, fingers scratching nervously at his chest and that’s when Hyunjin realized he practically had a perfect view of Jisung’s collarbones and lower chest. “Come on. It’s cold,” Jisung urges the elder inside, dragging him in by the fabric of Hyunjin’s jacket sleeve and Hyunjin followed obediently. “Tea or wine?” Jisung inquired as they filed into the kitchen and Hyunjin’s eyebrows shot up.

 

“You drink?” Jisung scoffed at the question.

 

“I think it’s kind of a rule of thumb that every painter is some sort of alcoholic. How do you think we stay sane?” Jisung joked prompting Hyunjin to snort and shake his head.

 

“I’ll remember that when I have to put you in rehab because your liver failed,” Hyunjin swiped the bottle for red wine from the younger and poured himself a glass as well, bringing it up to his lips to sip at it. Their eyes never really stopped running over the other but the tension in the air was nonexistent and their hands remained at their sides or wrapped around their glasses. It was comfortable, warm, and that’s when Hyunjin realized another thing, “did you turn the heat on?” It was amusing how fucking gobsmacked Hyunjin was about the whole thing, but it was even more amusing to see Jisung _pout_.

 

“I just have a lot of fans in the studio right now. It’s getting colder and I can only handle _so_ much cold. I’m a human too, ya know,” Jisung scolded, arms going to cross over his chest defensively, almost as if he were guarding his ego and Hyunjin snorted. One of his hands came up to pat the back of Jisung’s neck considering he couldn’t ruffle his hair and he presumed it to be his imagination when Jisung melted into his touch. “Ok, so I tried something new today. Yay or nay?” Jisung set the glass down, tilting his head downward so Hyunjin had a better view of the top of his head and pointing eagerly at the two braids. Frankly, Hyunjin thought they were some of the cutest things he had ever seen but he was so caught off guard by how eager and excitable Jisung was. It was as if he had done a complete 180 in a matter of just a few days.

 

“They’re very cute,” Jisung beamed up at Hyunjin at those words, and Hyunjin felt his chest tighten and then loosen, “You’re very excitable today aren’t you?” Hyunjin cooed a bit, masking it with a tiny laugh as to not give anything away, but Jisung knew better. He knew how Hyunjin looked at him and Jisung looked at him equally so, though they would not act on it now. Their feelings may have come fast, but they would not rush this. So, Jisung’s cheeks flushed and his eyes dropped to the ground shyly as he shuffled his feet against the tile of his kitchen. When Jisung uttered out a quiet apology, a frown stretched across Hyunjin’s lips, “I didn’t say I didn’t like it, Sung. It’s nice to see you happy,” Hyunjin hushed fondly but smirked when the crimson on Jisung’s cheeks somehow _deepened_.

 

“I’m glad… Shall we head up?” Jisung whispered the first part but managed to gather himself and prop his head up so he could look Hyunjin in the eye with still flushed cheeks but a straight back and a seemingly confident exterior. The elder downed the rest of his glass and nodded, placing a hand on the small of Jisung’s back and guiding him back up the stairs and into the studio where his painting was turned away from the entrance so Hyunjin still couldn’t see it before he needed to. Jisung waited until Hyunjin was comfortable in his stool before positioning him how he should be, gentle but firm touches that made Hyunjin dizzy when he realized how close Jisung was. His lips were right there… he could simply lean forward and feel just how soft they were - “Perfect, don’t move,” and then Jisung was backing away to be behind his painting and Hyunjin had to hold himself back from deflating.

 

If there was one thing Hyunjin could see forever, it was watching Jisung paint. Of course, before it was incredibly interesting to see his facial expressions and how focused he was, but as the more sessions that went on, the more Hyunjin was there to watch him paint, the more Jisung started talking and explaining different techniques and what paint to buy and what brushes weren’t the best in terms of grip, and Hyunjin… Hyunjin could hear him talk about Jisung’s passion for hours and hours on end because Jisung was just so captivating when the stars of love hung in his eyes and happiness bloomed over his face like a flower when it’s enveloped by the warmth of the sun. Jisung was so beautiful, inside _and_ out.

 

“Your face is very nice to paint, you know? Your features are simple, but when they stand together they create something…” Jisung was scared to just utter the word running through his head, but Hyunjin was giving him that look of curiosity and Jisung found it hard to keep his mouth shut, “ _Breathtaking_ ,” Their cheeks flushed at the younger’s compliment, neither one expecting him to say something like that, but this hadn’t been exactly the first time Hyunjin had heard it from someone either. He’s had gotten love notes from lovesick girls that deserved better than him where they described him as beautiful, even had girls come up to him and directly say it. Some guys too. But Hyunjin only wanted to hear it come from Jisung’s mouth.

 

“Thank you, Jisung…” Hyunjin trailed off shyly, rubbing the back of his neck and coughing to cover up the giddy giggle threatening to spill from his lips. Jisung immediately jumped right back into his rambling to avoid any sort of awkwardness, but then he went quiet and his smile became sad. “Jisung? What’s wrong?” Hyunjin questioned in a panic, expecting the younger to burst into tears right then and there, but he simply looked up with glassy eyes and a pained smile.

 

“Come here,” Jisung whispered and Hyunjin froze. He jumped up in delight, rounding the corner of the canvas in excitement and letting out a gasp of awe. It was so beautiful and so utterly realistic Hyunjin wondered if maybe this was some sort of photo edit that he put on himself. His skin was as smooth as it was in real life, lips parted and kissable as his eyes sparkled and shined in the way they only did when he looked at Jisung, and the background was watercolor flowers that matched the beauty but not quite the style. It was gorgeous, and Hyunjin was at a loss for words, “It’s done, Hwang Hyunjin,”

 

“It looks gorgeous, Sung,” Hyunjin managed to croak out, nibbling on his lower lip. The same thought seemed to flash in his head as it did Jisung’s, except the one inside the painter’s was a large, red blaring alarm saying ‘the end,’ “I can tell you put a lot of work into it and I’m honored to be painted by the grand Han Jisung,” Hyunjin murmured, slipping his hand onto Jisung’s shoulder and squeezing gently. Hyunjin hadn’t expected Jisung to slip his own hand on top of his but he didn’t push it away. But then, Jisung began to tremble and make small noises as he tried not to cry. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong?” Hyunjin gasped out, twining his arms around Jisung’s body like the roots he’s already planted in the deepest parts of the painter without him really knowing.

 

Jisung sunk into his chest, clutching the elder’s wrist tightly and burying his nose into Hyunjin’s bicep. “I don’t want to be alone, again,” Jisung didn’t say it directly for Hyunjin to know what he meant. Jisung didn’t want this to end, didn’t want to stop seeing Hyunjin, and didn’t want all contact to be cut off again. Hyunjin had become a much larger part of Jisung’s life than he had realized and sure it was intimidating but what was he going to do? Just leave? “Please…” Jisung croaked out, and Hyunjin began to rub soft circles into the middle of Jisung’s chest and nudge his lips against his hair.

 

“No one said this had to end, Han Jisung,” and Jisung got just the slightest hint of freedom.

  
  
  
  


Perhaps it was ignorant of him to assume he wouldn’t be spending his birthday alone again this year. That he wouldn’t be curled up in his library with a glass of wine and a book in his lap just like last year, and the year before that. However, could anyone really blame him? Hyunjin had been so kind to him, promised that he wouldn’t leave him that night when Jisung confessed he didn’t want to be left alone again, but he figured maybe it was too far Hyunjin would go out of his way to spend time with Jisung on his birthday. It wasn’t a special day anyway, in fact, his mother liked to often use the day against him, remind him of who he was, where he came from, and how he practically ruined her life. Birthdays were a day he dreaded as a child, but now they were just another day of the year.

 

Jisung’s eyes burned from how harshly he was staring into the pages of his book, fingertips threatening to receive a paper cut from the way they were gliding along the edges of the singular pages, and unfortunately for him, that’s exactly what happened when he heard knocks coming from the front door that practically rattled the whole house. Jisung hissed, staring down at his bleeding finger with malice clear in his eyes. Goddamnit. The painter climbed out of his large, fuzzy, and extremely expensive lovesac to find a band-aid, “I’m coming! I’m coming! Jesus Christ!” Jisung screeched out when the knocks just kept coming. Eventually, Jisung had a band-aid wrapped around his finger and he was pulling open the door aggressively without even looking at who was there, “What the fuck-” The words died in Jisung’s throat when he saw Hyunjin stood outside with a sheepish smile and seven other guys behind him, all holding small gifts and - was that a cake?

 

“Happy birthday, Jisung?” Hyunjin uttered, but it only came out as more of a question and Jisung was still gaping at all the people stood in the doorway with wide eyes, “I know this may be a bit much but it’s cold. Can we come inside?” Hyunjin questioned, teeth clattering as a particularly cold gust of wind blew through. Jisung didn’t say anything, only stepping aside so all the guys stood in front of his house could walk inside and get progressively louder. Hyunjin was the last one to enter, Jisung holding him in place so he could talk to him in private, Except he couldn’t really form words so his arms just flew around wildly in hopes of Hyunjin understanding what he meant, “You said you were lonely, and I figured you could do with a birthday where you had fun. But we can leave if you want to, that’s perfectly fine,” Hyunjin heavily reassured but Jisung just shook his head with a fond smile tugging at his lips.

 

Jisung placed his hands on Hyunjins side, reaching up to feather a kiss to his cheek and Hyunjin flushed, “thank you,” And then they separated and the two found them all sitting in the untouched but spotless dining room patiently but laughing and talking. “Hello,” Jisung waved shyly, shrinking back a bit into Hyunjin’s form behind him when all seven pairs of eyes landed on Jisung.

 

“Fuck, they weren’t wrong when they said you were pretty,” the shortest of the bunch grunted out suddenly, sharp intimidating eyes boring into his entire body and Jisung flushed. Though Woojin nudged his side in a scolding manner and the elder sighed, “Sorry, yeah, I’m Changbin,” He stuck out his hand once he approached Jisung, the painter shaking it firmly and giggling when Changbin brought his knuckles up to his lips to feather a kiss to them, “I’m Woojin’s partner,” Changbin explained himself and suddenly it made a lot more sense.

 

“Ah. That’s why you’re such a charmer then,” Jisung hummed in udnerstanding, winking in Woojin’s direction and the elder returned it back. Hyunjin couldn’t even bring himself to be irritated because he knew that if they were to stick around, this would be far too regular for him to take it seriously. “Sit, sit, I can go grab some candles -” Jisung was cut off by Hyunjin placing his hands on his hips and sitting him down at the end of the table.

 

“I’ve got it, Sung. Let them introduce themselves before they burst. They’ve been dying to meet you anyway,” Hyunjin insisted, shooting everyone warning glares as if he were saying ‘be nice,’ and they all took it seriously. They eased their way into their weirdness that just seemed to never stop once it started.

 

“Tell me your names… I might recognize them considering Hyunjin talks about you guys sometimes,” Jisung started when he realized no one was starting, and the fox-eyed beside the empty chair next to Jisung perked up at that.

 

“Yang Jeongin, flower shop owner and resident Maknae,” He beamed and Jisung found himself cooing a bit. Jeongin was cute, an adult, but cute nonetheless. Jisung’s eyes flickered to the freckled red-head beside Jeongin.

 

“Lee Felix, dance student, and yes my voice is really this deep and yes I can go a bit deeper for you later,” Felix winked suddenly and Jisung found his cheeks heating up, especially when Hyunjin called out Felix’s name in slight exhaustion from the kitchen and Felix began to laugh.

 

“Lee Minho, A lawyer but a dance instructor on the side. Felix is one of my students actually,” Minho murmured quietly, leaning forward with his chin resting in his palm, and Jisung didn’t miss the looks Jeongin and Felix were sparing the elder. “You’re very pretty, Jisungie. That sweater looks soft,” Minho complimented with a tiny smile prompting Jisung to play with his deep red sweater shyly and mutter out a small ‘thank you’.

 

“Kim Seungmin, Also a flower shop owner. We have two stores but it’s under the same name,” Jisung had to admit that the boy was very pretty with his wide, almost innocent eyes and soft looking face, but something about him seemed so… _strong_. Well, that was until the man beside him started speaking and Jisung saw Seungmin practically melt in his seat.

 

“Bang Chan, Police officer and dating this pretty thing,” Seungmin purred when Chan’s fingers came up to cup his jaw, the two sharing a quick peck that made the rest of them groan loudly, “Oh shut it, we’re not nearly as bad as the lot of you,” Chan snapped towards Woojin and Changbin, and Felix and Jeongin. Seungmin smirked at the rest of them, pushing his lips against Chan’s jawline in appreciation. The two were cute.

 

“And what is it that you two do?” Jisung questioned as he turned towards Changbin and Woojin who were currently holding hands under the table and talking quietly. Changbin’s eyes snapped to him first, managing to start talking before Woojin could.

 

“I’m a journalist, and Woojin Hyung is a photographer,” And then it all clicked. All the normal jobs, everything. It all clicked into place and Jisung felt like he just solved the most complicated puzzle in the world.

 

“Ah… I get it now,” Jisung hummed in understanding as Hyunjin came back in with a stack of bowls and spoons. Everyone froze at that, “Your jobs… they’re of use to you right? The flower shops for money, the journalist, photographer, and police officer to frame someone, the lawyer to know loopholes, and a nurse to patch up, right? All of these are useful to you in your sideline of work…” Jisung trailed off, watching everyone stare at him in bewilderment. Minho was the first one to speak up.

 

“You’re a smart man, Han Jisung,” Minho hushed, and all Jisung could do was beam. Hyunjin felt himself relax when they all jumped into a conversation, escaping back into the kitchen to grab his cake and light the candles.

  
“Start singing!” Hyunjin called out, and everyone perked up, clapping their hands singing out Jisung’s birthday song. The elder came from behind Jisung, startling him a bit but lowering the cake onto the table in front of him while being careful not to blow out the candles either. “Happy birthday, Jisung,” Hyunjin leaned down to whisper into Jisung’s ear before kissing the shell when the rest were in the middle of singing. Jisung’s cheeks lit aflame, a bright red and burning hot, but Jisung didn’t mind.

 

“Make a wish!”

 

 _I wish to never be alone again._ The candles blew out easily and everyone was cheering and clapping loudly. “Movie time!” Felix shrieked, dragging Jisung and Jeongin to the living room by their arms and Jisung couldn’t stop giggling. He hoped this never ended.

 

“Thank you for tonight, Hyunjin,” Jisung murmured into the night air. Everyone else was gathered in their cars, waiting patiently for Hyunjin to hurry it along and join them so they could all go home, but Jisung held him in his place. Hyunjin’s hands outstretched to grab Jisung’s, holding them loosely.

 

“I don’t want you to be lonely, Ji,”

 

“Thank you for being there…” Jisung hushed, and then they were leaning in, foreheads pressed together and eyes fluttering shut. Though neither one of them moved to take it further. They would take this slow and steady.

 

“Let me take you on a date,” Hyunjin breathed out, and Jisung grinned widely.

 

“I’d really like that, Hwang Hyunjin,”

  
  
  


Hyunjin was a nervous wreck.

 

A complete jittery mess who had absolutely no idea what he was doing and why he was doing this to himself when he could stay home and eat ice cream with Minho cuddled on the couch, but instead he was getting advice from Bang Chan on fashion and Kim Seungmin on what to do, “Listen, he’s already whipped for you, so just be yourself. Be nice, compliment him, be affectionate. Maybe you’ll actually get a kiss this time,” Seungmin advised from his position on Hyunjin’s bed, watching his boyfriend dig through Hyunjin’s closet to find clothes that would actually look nice.

 

“Shut up, Seungmin. I didn’t kiss him that night because I want-”

 

“-To take things slow, yes we know. Now try this on,” Chan huffed, throwing a blue and white short-sleeved button-up, black jeans ripped at the knees, and a leather jacket Hyunjin’s way. The younger thief huffed loudly, stripping himself of his clothes like he was the only one in the room while Chan turned to Seungmin, “Sweetheart, go and see if Woojin and Jeongin have fucked up the food or not, please,” Chan sighed and Seungmin jumped up from his place on the bed, darting out the open door screaming for Woojin and Jeongin at an annoyingly high volume. Hyunjin ignored the way Chan turned back to him to study him, slipping the shirt over his head and looking at Chan with his arms spread out.

 

“Tuck or no tuck?” Hyunjin inquired before tucking the shirt in, giving Chan a clearer view of both options. Chan hummed for a moment, tapping his chin.

 

“Put the jacket on real quick,” Hyunjin didn’t hesitate, slipping his arms through, and posing for Chan playfully, “Tucked, dork. Put on your boots quickly, you’re going to be late,” Chan snickered before leaving the room. Hyunjin felt slightly less jittery now because he knew he looked good and the guys really did help in terms of calming his nerves. It only got a little better when he walked into the kitchen to see a bouquet of spider lilies, a bundle of food containers and everyone goofing around.

 

Felix was the first to notice him, “Hyung, you look hot,” Felix’s deep voice rumbled, and Hyunjin flushed deeply when everyone else started joining in.

 

“Who knew you could dress nice?”

 

“Jisung is one lucky man,”

 

“Hyunjinnie is so grown up,” Woojin sobbed into Minho’s shoulder, the younger scoffing in disgust and shoving the bear-like human off of him. Changbin cooed at Woojin’s pouting, holding his arms out to him and wrapping Woojin up in a hug as Woojin sobbed dramatically about how proud of a father he was and Hyunjin felt like bashing his head into the nearest wall. Meanwhile, Jeongin was packing everything into a shiny black leather backpack for Hyunjin to carry. It looked expensive.

 

“Here, hyung. I bought this recently but haven’t used it,” Jeongin murmured and Hyunjin kissed him on the forehead in gratitude.

 

“Alright, I’m off-”

 

“Wait, Hyunjin,” Changbin spoke up, battling through the group of guys and holding up a set of keys. Hyunjin gaped at Changbin in shock, everyone else mimicking him. “I swear to the heavens above if you crash her tonight, I will throw you off the roof,” Changbin growled out, and Hyunjin nodded his head frantically. Hyunjin knew that that wasn’t an empty threat. “Alright, Ok.   Good luck baby doll,”

 

Changbin’s motorcycle roared to life, and Hyunjin felt his heart pumping in his ears. He hadn’t gotten to ride a motorcycle in a few months, as his own broke down and he had yet to be able to fix it, but being on Changbin’s, being able to fly down the road at lightning speeds felt amazing. He felt at home again.

 

Soon though, almost too soon if Hyunjin were honest, he was outside of Jisung’s house, pulling out the flowers carefully and slipping the backpack back onto his shoulders. Hyunjin walked up to the door, knocking four times and waiting patiently for it to open. When it did, Hyunjin became jittery all over again because Jisung opened it with a soft, fond grin and equally nervous eyes. But Hyunjin couldn’t help but rake his eyes up and down Jisung’s form. They were dressed similarlly, Jisung wearing a red and black sweater turtle neck under a leather black jacket, white whitewashedd jeans, and all black high rise vans. His hair was pulled up into a bun, the braids back, and Hyunjin couldn’t describe how he felt, “Hey, handsome,” Hyunjin purred, pressing a kiss to Jisung’s forehead.

 

Jisung’s cheeks tinted and he glanced up at the elder, “Hey, Hyung,” Jisung whispered, feathering a quick kiss to Hyunjin’s jaw. “These for me?” Jisung inquired with a gasp when he saw the spider lilies in Hyunjin’s hands, waiting for the elder to confirm before taking them out of his hands.

 

“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful man,” Hyunjin flirted, but Jisung just rolled his eyes playfully before taking the bouquet into his own hands. Jisung claimed he was going to put them in some water and then he would be right out, Hyunjin waiting patiently by his bike with the backpack curled between his fingers. “You ready?” Hyunjin double checked as he climbed onto the bike, slipping on his helmet with a click and offering the painter a beaming smile when he seemed nervous about getting on. “And don’t worry about the bike. Once you get past the nerves, it’s invigorating,” Hyunjin breathed out and Hyunjin nodded with a gulp.

 

“Anything I should know before we start?” Jisung questioned, backpack now on his back, helmet carefully on his head, and arms twined tightly around Hyunjin’s waist. Hyunjin hummed in thought.

 

“Just lean with me, angel,” and then the bike roared to life and Jisung flinched, “Don’t worry so much. It’s going to be okay. You’ll be safe,” Hyunjin voiced over the loud thunder of the motorcycle and then they were moving, and Jisung was clutching onto Hyunjin for dear life. It was intimidating at first, but Hyunjin didn’t take any sharp turns or go any faster than Jisung was comfortable with until Jisung loosened up a bit. “How you feeling?” Hyunjin questioned when they made it to a red light and Jisung leaned back. Jisung sighed.

 

“I don’t feel like I’m on a death trap anymore…” Jisung trailed off, but Hyunjin didn’t miss the giddy lilt to Jisung’s tone. He was enjoying this, his anxiety was just getting in the way.

 

“That’s good, angel,”

 

“Where’d angel come from, hm?” Jisung murmured, resting his chin on Hyunjin’s shoulder in hopes of coaxing Hyunjin to look at him. Though that was a grave mistake on his part because now he just wanted to kiss the quirk of Hyunjin’s lips.

 

“Cause you’re as pretty as an angel,” Hyunjin complimented, straining his neck a bit to kiss above Jisung’s left brow, prompting the painter to giggle cutely, “And you’re my angel,”

 

“I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around, hyung,” Jisung try to argue but Hyunjin dismissed him with a wave of his hand and a scoff. Jisung wanted to argue more, wanted to confess his feelings right then and there but he figured that really wasn’t the best moment so settled for a quiet, “thank you,”

 

“You’re welcome, angel,” However, Jisung let out a loud shriek, clutching to Hyunjin’s waist again when the light turned green and Hyunjin sped up down the road at a much faster speed than he had done all night.

 

“Hyunjin! You’re going to get a ticket for breaking the speed limit!” Jisung pleaded into his ear but Hyunjin was only a laughing, giddy mess as he sped down the highway, and that seemed to settle Jisung a bit. Seeing Hyunjin so happy and giddy was incredibly relaxing and made his own heart pound with giddiness. Soon enough though, Hyunjiin slowed down, the two let out deep breaths before they pulled into a quiet parking lot in the middle of the city where lights were all strewn about in celebration of fall. Jisung gaped at all of them from the bike, hoping to god they would be able to walk through them. “They’re so beautiful…” Jisung breathed out, and Hyunjin smiled.

 

“I’m glad you like them. I knew the fall festival was tonight and I wanted you to release lanterns with me…” Hyunjin murmured shyly and Jisung beamed up at him.

 

“I would be honored to, Hwang Hyunjin,” Jisung curled his arms around Hyunjin’s bicep, letting the elder lead him down the lit up sidewalk with fairy lights draping from the trees to the sides of buildings or power line poles above them. “I’ve never been to the fall festival. I’ve seen pictures and painted them but I’ve never actually been to one in person,” Jisung admitted shyly when they reached the stalls in the middle of town where all sorts of fruits and vegetables along with meals were being sold, and Hyunjin gaped at him.

 

“I’ve come to them every year… You poor, deprived soul,” Hyunjin teased, but Jisung could see him looking slightly upset about the fact about Jisung’s implication of not getting out enough. “I’m going to take you to every single event for the next year and a half and there’s nothing you can do to stop me,” Hyunjin claimed confidently, but Jisung just raised his eyebrows up at him.

 

“Just a year and a half?” Jisung questioned teasingly, but that was the perfect moment for Hyunjin to lean down and nudge their noses together. He could kiss him right then and there and ask Jisung to be his boyfriend, and Jisung would be the happiest man on Earth, but Hyunjin was going to save it. At least for now.

 

“You’re lucky I have a sense of self-control, Angel,” Hyunjin purred, pressing a quick kiss to Jisung’s nose and shifting away when the lady at the stall handed him a packet of churros and took one out to feed it to Jisung. “The lantern show starts soon, let’s go get one and go somewhere a bit quieter,” Hyunjin suggested, taking a bite of his own churro and Jisung didn’t reject the idea so they got moving. Luckily, they didn’t have to pay for the lanterns and tea light candles as there was a man there handing them out and they took one gratefully before Hyunjin tugged Jisung over to a tall building beside them.

 

“Are we supposed to be here, hyung?” Jisung inquired wearily when Hyunjin guided him up long flights of stairs to get to the top, and Hyunjin just shrugged.

 

“When has anything I’ve done ever been legal?” Hyunjin retorted and Jisung’s eyes rolled so far back into his head, they swore they were going to get stuck. “It’ll be fine, angel, I promise,” Hyunjin whispered into Jisung’s ear when they reached the top of the stairs, pushing open the door that leads out to the rooftop and Jisung felt his breath escape his lungs when they neared the edge of the roof. Jisung could see the entire city from there. “Beautiful isn’t it? It’s the perfect view to see all the lanterns,” Hyunjin claimed with confidence and Jisung didn’t doubt that for a second.

 

Hyunjin pulled out the food and blanket from the backpack, spreading it out on the concrete so Jisung didn’t have to sit down on the cold, dirty surface. They began to unravel all the food, and Jisung kept purring and humming in content every time he took a bite. “They did a really good job with this…” Jisung complimented and Hyunjin nodded.

 

“Woojin and Jeongin are good cooks,” Hyunjin admitted, and Jisung wiggled his eyebrows.

 

“Too bad you’re not a good cook,” Jisung teased, but before Hyunjin could argue or throw bits and pieces of his food, Jisung’s eyes lit up when he saw the first lantern peak over the edge of the roof. “Hyung, it’s starting!” Jisung exclaimed, and Hyunjin was quick to grab for a lighter and the red lantern with orange flowers all over it, lighting the tea light in the middle but not sending it up quite yet.

  
“You have to make a wish, angel,”

 

“I wish to one day see the world and for the world to see me,” Jisung whispered and Hyunjin let the lantern go, sitting down beside Jisung and tugging him into his side.

 

“Your dream is to release your art, right?” Hyunjin hummed, and Jisung nodded shakily. “Then do it,” Hyunjin shrugged, but he didn’t understand. Not yet, anyway.

 

"What if it's not everything I dreamed it to be?"

 

"It will be,"

 

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

 

"Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream," Jisung leaned his temple on Hyunjin’s shoulder, lips pouted. “Han Jisung, I really like you,” Hyunjin confessed quietly as they looked over all the lanterns hanging in the sky, and Jisung tensed, but only for a moment.

 

“I really like you too, Hwang Hyunjin… but I’m getting impatient, will you ask me out already?” Jisung whined, and Hyunjin broke out in loud laughter before Jisung yelped at the feeling of being lowered to the ground, plush pair of lips pressed to his, and hands holding the side of his head. Jisung didn’t quite know what to do in this regard, but he tried his best to move with Hyunjin, whining lowly when Hyunjin nibbled on his lower lip before pulling away. Hyunjin’s mouth was so soft, so warm, and so safe, “You still haven’t asked me out,” Jisung panted, heart pounding at the sight of Hyunjin leaned over him with a lovesick grin as he traced his pointer finger along his cheek.

 

“Will you do me the honor of being my boyfriend?”

 

“Of course,”

  
  
  
  
  


Hyunjin let a whimper fall from his lips at the weight on his hips and the ticklish feeling dancing across his face, opening his eyes with a pout. Jisung was leaned over him, straddling his hips, hands on either side of Hyunjin’s head, and peppering kisses along his collar bones, neck, jaw, cheeks, cheekbones, under his ear, nose, eyebrows, eyelids, anywhere he could reach aside from Hyunjin’s lips. “Morning, love,” Jisung rasped deeply, leaning their foreheads together and letting his hair fall down to tickle Hyunjin’s cheeks. Hyunjin hummed in greeting, curling his arms around Jisung’s waist, pushing down on his back so Jisung was laying down on top of him, and cuddling him like a teddy bear, “You need to get up,” The painter murmured into Jisung’s bare shoulder but Hyunjin just groaned.

 

“Why can’t we stay like this for a while? I feel like it’s been a month since we’ve been able to cuddle in the morning,” Hyunjin whined, but purring when Jisung straddled his hips again to rub his hands into Hyunjin’s chest. His skin reminded Jisung of honey, and if maybe he bent down to mark a quick love bite into Hyunjin’s collarbone, that was his own business. “Now I’m definitely not going anywhere,” Hyunjin laughed when Jisung couldn’t help himself but mark a flower of lovebites above Hyunjin’s heart, the elder curling his fingers into Jisung’s hair when Jisung bit down a little too sharply. However, when Jisung laughed into his skin, Hyunjin flipped them, pinning Jisung down onto the bed and intertwining their fingers on either side of Jisung’s head. “You’re so beautiful, angel,” Hyunjin breathed out before kissing him slowly, earning a slight whimper when he deepened it a bit.

 

The tension in the room grew as Jisung and Hyunjin escaped into the feeling of the other, but when they heard a crash, they halted momentarily. “Did you hear that?” Jisung questioned, but Hyunjin just shook his head in a lie before pressing kisses into Jisung’s neck again. Jisung went back to the feeling of Hyunjin’s touch, gasping a bit when Hyunjin tugged the skin of his neck between his teeth, but when they heard feverish knocks at the door, Hyunjin sighed, hanging his head.

 

“Jisung hyung~” Jeongin’s voice rang out in a slight shy panic, “Felix Hyung fucked up,” and then Hyunjin was climbing off of Jisung to find a shirt, slipping it over his head before pulling open the door and running out. Jisung wasn’t too far behind him, finding the rest crowded around his studio and freezing. Hyunjin broke through the crowd of guys to find Jisung’s studio practically ruined. The paint was everywhere, brushes were snapped, easels were broken, and Felix was stood in the middle of it all trembling in fear. Hyunjin stopped and stared.

 

“I-I’m sorry -Hyung, I don’t -I don’t remember -” Felix was a blubbering mess at this point, but Jisung was the first to approach him, pulling Felix into a warm hug, “I’m so sorry,” Felix had blackouts, most of the time he became aggressive and destructive, but they hadn’t been happening as much recently. The rest just kind of… forgot about it.

 

“It’s fine, Lix. Breathe for me,” Jisung hushed, running his palms into Felix’s back in hopes of getting him to calm down. “Listen… just go get ready. I’ll clean this up,” Jisung whispered, patting Felix’s cheek gently and Felix nodded, being guided out by Minho and Jeongin, the rest following the get ready order all except for Hyunjin who stood in the doorway, “Go, love, don’t worry about it. This wasn’t the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last,” Jisung promised and Hyunjin felt his chest swell. They had only been dating for half a year, the guys practically moving in after a month, and Jisung was so patient with their absolute bullshit. Hyunjin felt like he didn’t deserve him.

 

Now, they were all at the door, Jisung sending them off with cheek kisses or forehead kisses for the younger males, but of course, Hyunjin got a real kiss on the lips, “Where’s my actual kiss?” Woojin and Changbin exclaimed at the same time, but Hyunjin stepped in front of Jisung and kissed him a little dramatically to get them to piss off, “Alright, alright, alright, we get it. Jesus,” Woojin laughed, raising his hands up in the air defensively.

 

“Be safe, losers,” Jisung called out.

  
  
  
  


And they were safe. Except they never quite came home that night. Not all of them at least. Jisung had been too invested in his current painting to hear Hyunjin come in through the front door, come up the stairs, and open the door to the studio. It had taken the elder to tap his shoulder to gather Jisung’s attention, and when Jisung whirled around with a smile, Hyunjin flinched back. It didn’t quite register in Jisung’s brain at the time, the large orange envelope that Hyunjin was hugging to his chest practically became invisible when Jisung saw the bruises and cuts all over his skin, “Holy shit, what happened? Is everyone okay?” Jisung fired question after question, fingers gingerly moving along his boyfriend’s injuries before Hyunjin nudged him away.

 

“Jisung…” Hyunjin trailed off seriously, holding out the envelope to Jisung and the painter felt his blood run cold when he took it into his hands and saw the royal markings on the orange paper. “We… we went to the castle tonight. We had gotten a tip that there was something valuable in the safe that we couldn’t pass up and -” Hyunjin paused, watching Jisung slowly dig his fingers inside to tug all the papers inside, “How could you not tell me?” Hyunjin hushed, voice dripping with hurt but Jisung ignored him. He felt like his whole world was crashing down because right there in his very fingers was his biggest secret. All of the contracts, the birth certificates, the agreements, the pictures, the health records, _everything_ that Jisung might not ever get to sign again. “You’re royalty -”

 

“I’m a bastard, Hyunjin,” Jisung explained softly, sliding the papers back into the envelope and placing it gently on the table by the canvas, “My father had an affair with my mother, got her pregnant, and when she had me, his top priority was hiding me from the public. If they find out about me… it will ruin everything,” Jisung explained as calmly as possible despite his heart pounding in his ears.

 

“Jisung, you’re being forced to hide! How could you not try and change this?” Hyunjin snapped but flinched when Jisung’s eyes darkened in aggression.

 

“Hyunjin, he is the king. If I were to come forward and try and claim this… I would disappear by the end of the week and all of this would be swept under the rug,” Jisung tried to remain calm, he tried to for the sake of their relationship but he could see Hyunjin becoming more irritated by the second. So, he approached Hyunjin, backed him into a corner and clutched his collar between his fingers with a snarl tugging at his features, “No one can know about this, do you understand me? _No one_ ,” Jisung growled, shoving Hyunjin up against the wall as a warning before separating completely. “You should go,” Jisung uttered, turning his back to his lover.

 

“Jisung…” Hyunjin trailed off in defeat but Jisung squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “Angel, look at me,” Hyunjin sighed, grabbing for Jisung’s hand and tugging him backward. Jisung didn’t look at Hyunjin, but he did melt into his chest when Hyunjin circled his arms around the painter. Hyunjin wanted to be angry about Jisung not telling him, but he also knew that that wasn’t completely fair either. Jisung didn’t tell him for a reason because this was much larger than just them. This was an entire royal family. “I’m sorry,” Hyunjin whispered into Jisung’s shoulder, but the younger just turned around, clutched his collar and began to sob loudly into his neck.

 

“It’s so hard, hyung. It was so lonely and I felt like I was going to go insane not being able to put my art out in the world, and then your dumb ass came along, and -” The rest of it was gibberish mostly, Hyunjin just barely able to make out a few words but it was obvious he was distressed because Jisund would beat against Hyunjin’s chest before attaching to him like a koala again, and all Hyunjin could do was shush and rock the younger.  “I hate it, Hyung,” Jisung uttered quietly after a while of rambling, and Hyunjin feathered kisses against his forehead, temple, the bridge of his nose, eyebrows, cheeks, and jaw.

 

“I know you do, angel. I’m so sorry you’ve had to put up with this for so long,” Hyunjin hushed, pulling Jisung in a bit tighter at the waist so they were pressed together practically everywhere. It was quiet for a bit after that, but eventually, Jisung broke out into exhausted chuckles and moved away from Hyunjin to wipe away his damp cheeks.

 

“I need a shower,” Jisung sighed, backing away from Hyunjin when the elder planted a kiss to his forehead, escaping into the bathroom so he could think. He didn’t think Hyunjin would try and expose Jisung to the public, but Jisung was paranoid. He had been raised that way and now that Hyunjin knew about everything, it just made him all the more anxious. Jisung wished he could never leave the warmth of the shower. He didn’t want to go out and face the world now. But he downplayed just how long he had been in there, and timid knocks came at the door.

 

“Angel, are you okay? You’ve been in there a while…” Hyunjin trailed off, and Jisung didn’t even know he was crying either until he actually spoke.

 

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute,” Jisung called out with a tremor in his voice and turned off the now cold water. He shivered when the cold air of the bathroom hit his thin body when he opened the door, quick to grab for his towel and curl it around his shoulders to mask some of the cold. Jisung managed to slip on his clothes despite his skin still being damp, and escape the bathroom with dripping wet hair. Hyunjin was laying on his bed, legs hanging off the edge and staring up at the ceiling with his arms spread out on the mattress above his head.

 

Hyunjin sat up when he heard the door open, smiling fondly when Jisung stood a few feet away from him shyly. “Come here, angel,” Hyunjin coaxed with a voice that wasn’t too loud in hopes of not frightening him in any way. Jisung approached his lover, standing between his legs as Hyunjin’s large hand slipped around the back of his thighs and gave them a gentle, reassuring squeeze, “I’m not going to tell anyone, okay? It’s not my thing to tell,” Hyunjin claimed, cooing a bit when Jisung let out a wail of relief. Hyunjin dragged Jisung down onto his lap, ignoring his dripping wet hair that splattered water droplets along Hyunjin’s forehead and temples. Their foreheads pressed together and Hyunjin nuzzled their noses together cheesily. Jisung loved shit like that.

 

“Thank you. I don’t deserve you,” Jisung hushed, pressing a peck to Hyunjin’s lips, but the elder just shook his head disapprovingly.

 

“It’s me who doesn’t deserve you, angel,” Hyunjin fell back onto the mattress, Jisung moving to straddle his hips and slip his hands under the white of Hyunjin’s shirt to massage into his stomach. It was a slow, gentle kiss that started and ended within seconds but as quickly as they separated, another one started. They couldn’t get enough of each other, running their hands along the other’s torso and kissing their names into the other’s ribcages or collarbones.

 

“I love you,”

 

“And I love you,”

  
  
  
  


The knocks that rapped at the door shook the walls that morning, and Jisung was far too comfortable and warm in his own bed to really want to deal with it. He just hoped that whoever it was would leave soon. However, after seven rounds of knocks, Jisung quickly realized that that would not be the case by any means and groaned loudly. Jisung separated himself from Hyunjin’s hickey covered body with a grunt, shivering a bit at the loss of warmth. Hyunjin obviously didn’t like him being gone either as he whined in his sleep, snuggling up to Jisung’s pillow but not looking satisfied by any means. Jisung managed to make it down the stairs in Hyunjin’s t-shirt and a pair of large boxer shorts when the eighth set of knocks came at the door. “I’m coming! Jesus fuck!” Jisung exclaimed, getting to unlock the door before it was shoved open by his very frantic mother.

 

“Jisung, the documents were stolen. It’s only a matter of time before it makes it out to the public. We have to get you packed and out of the city before it hits -”

 

“Mom,” Jisung sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. “Please for the love of god, breathe and slow down so I know what’s going on,” Jisung pleaded, way too tired to keep up with her rambles. The woman looked at him, really looked at him and gasped.

 

“Are those hickies?!” She screeched all of the sudden, and Jisung scowled.

 

“Yes, mother. I am 24 years old,” Jisung uttered coldly, but they both heard footsteps from behind them and that's when Jisung really froze. “Fuck,” Jisung hissed under his breath when he turned to see Hyunjin walking down the stairs in nothing but a pair of sweatpants and yawning to himself obliviously. “Hyunjin… come meet my mother,” Jisung laughed nervously, twiddling his thumbs when Hyunjin froze in his tracks, mid-yawn.

 

“Shit,”

 

“Shit is right, boys,” Jisung’s mother snapped, tapping her foot impatiently, “I told you to stop seeing him,” His mother grumbled, but she didn’t seem particularly angry, just more panicked than before, “What if he finds out hm? He’s going to accuse him of stealing those documents and -”

 

“Because I did, ma’am,” The room went quiet after Hyunjin spoke, and Jisung’s hand was squeezing Hyunjin’s hand so tightly, the elder surely couldn’t feel it anymore. “I broke into the castle last night in search of the necklace the queen used to wear when I found the documents… I won’t leak them. You two are safe,” Hyunjin reassured but Jisung’s mom remained unsure. Though a fond look flashed across her eyes when Hyunjin curled an arm around Jisung’s waist and pulled him close, “Trust me, he already explained the whole thing to me. I know what happens if this goes public,” Jisung’s mother sucked in a sharp breath.

 

“You have to return the documents and stop seeing my son… if you truly know what’s best for him you’ll do just that,” The woman uttered softly, and Hyunjin was ready to comply if it meant Jisung’s safety was assured, but Jisung but in before the elder could even think of responding.

 

“Absolutely not,”

 

“Jisung -”

 

“No, listen to me, ma,” Jisung snapped, holding a hand up to shut her up, “We have the paper, ma. _We have the papers,_ ” Jisung emphasized, hoping she would catch on, but her lips were still curled down into a pout and she looked confused, “Ma, if we play our cards right, we could be free. Don’t you understand that?” Jisung hushed in excitement, clutching her biceps tightly, “Ma, _we could be free,_ ” It sounded like a distant fairytale with no hopes of coming true to her, but she figured…. She figured it was worth a shot.

 

“This is our lives you’re putting on the line here, Jisung,” Jisung’s face dropped at her words, “...But I think we should try it,” Jisung heaved out a sigh of relief, pulling her into a tight hug, “We’re not out yet, my boy,” She reminded, but it felt like he might as well should be.

 

“I know,” Jisung murmured, pulling away, “Tell him I want to talk to him as soon as possible and to meet me here. Use an excuse like I want to speak to him about what we do to handle all of this,” Jisung ordered and it wasn’t long after that the woman scurried out the front door and Jisung was left with an anxious tug in his stomach. Hyunjin circled his arms around him from behind, peppering kisses into his shoulders, “This could be the end or the beginning, my love,” Jisung hushed, but Hyunjin just patted his hands.

 

“Let's hope for the latter hm?”

 

When timid knocks came at the door a few hours later, Jisung let out a shaky sigh. “Don’t come out unless I Say so, do you understand?” Jisung ordered, turning back to Hyunjin who had been stuffed in the sunroom upstairs. Hyunjin nodded his head frantically and Jisung grinned fondly before kissing him softly. “I love you,”

 

“I love you too. Stay safe,” and then Jisung was shutting the door and climbing down the stairs. He stopped by the mirror to make sure he looked presentable before pulling open the door. There, in the entryway with three bodyguards behind him, was Jisung’s father and the most important man in the country.

 

“Hello, Jisung,” He greeted formally, and Jisung nodded in his direction, opening the door a bit wider. “Stay back, boys,” The man grumbled, putting a hand up to stop them from following him inside and they all hovered by the door in confusion. Jisung shut it in their faces, a smug feeling rising in his chest, but then it deflated when his father let out an exhausted sigh, peeling the hat from his head and the scarf from his neck. Jisung took them expectantly, laying them gently on the clean table by the door because they were probably worth more than him. “It’s nice to see you again, Jisung,” The last thing Jisung expected was for the man to pull him into a hug. Jisung didn’t hesitate to hug back though.

 

“You too, dad,”

 

“Let’s cut to the chase, hm?” Jisung nodded slowly, “You have the documents don’t you?” Jisung froze, not quite sure what to say, but his silence seemed to answer the man’s question. “Hand them over, Jisung,”

 

“Dad -”

 

“Jisung, hand them over now. Just trust me on this,” He said the last part so softly Jisung forgot what was going on. This was his dad, his father, the man who raised him from a distance but still loved him unconditionally. Jisung may have hated everything, but he didn’t hate his father. He never did and he never will. So, he escaped into the kitchen to grab the large envelope and take it to the man waiting in the kitchen.

 

His father sifted through the papers inside, checking to see if they were all there and taking a select few of them out. Jisung gaped at his father in shock when he realized it was the contracts and that they were now in tiny, itty bitty pieces on his floor. “Holy fuck,”

 

“Go live your life, Jisung. I trust you. I trust that you’ll make a name for yourself without exposing too much…” 

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“Because I love you, and I love your mother. It’s unfair to keep you cooped up now. Go live your life, Jisung,” Jisung surged forward, pulling his father into a tight hug and sobbing into his shoulder. They stood there for a long time, father and son holding each other and ignoring all the negatives of the outside world. “I should get going,” He murmured, pulling away from his son and patting Jisung’s shoulder. He was halfway out the door when Jisung called out to him. “Yes?”

 

“I want you to meet someone…”

 

Who knew his dream wouldn’t actually be impossible, hm?

  
  
  
  
[[Moodboard](https://twitter.com/atumun15/status/1057774668738973696)]  
  
  
  



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